THE  LIBRARIES 


Bequest  of 

Frederic  Bancroft 

1860-1945 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF    THE 


JOINT     COMMITTEE 


APPOINTED    BY   THE 


SOCIETY  or  FRIENDS, 


CONSTITUTING  THE  YEARLY  MEETINGS 


OP 


GENESSEE,  NEW  YORK,  PHILADELPHIA 

AND  BALTIMORE, 

For  promoting  the  civilization  and  improving  the  condition, 

OF    THE 

SENECA   NATION    OF    INDIANS. 


BALTIMORE: 

WILLIAM   WOODDY    FPINTKR. 
•    '*'1S'47. 


1  > 


Q^n<^  "roS  T 


0( 


/ 


PREFACE. 


The  society  of  Friends  who  compose  the  Yearly  meetings 
of  Genesee,  New  York.  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  having  for 
some  years  past  been  engaged  in  efforts  to  promote  the  civili- 
zation, of  some  of  the  Indian  tribes,  residing  in  the  western 
parts  of  the  state  of  New  York;  and  having  under  the  pre- 
sent improved  situation,  both  as  regards  the  intellectual  and 
social  condition  of  the  Senecas,  who  have  been  under  their 
care,  reason  to  hope,  that  in  a  little  time,  these  people  will  be 
able  to  manage  their  own  affairs,  without  much  assistance  from 
us,  the  Committees  appointed  by  those  several  Yearly  meet- 
ings to  attend  to  this  service,  believe  it  right,  to  prepare  for 
the  general  information  of  our  members,  who  have  taken  a 
deep  interest  in  this  concern,   a  narrative   of    our  proceed- 


ings. 


This  has  been  deemed  the  more  necessary  as,  by  being 
made  fully  acquainted  with  the  former  and  present  circum- 
stances of  those  Indians,  our  members  will  be  better  able  to 
judge,  what  it  may  be  proper  for  the  society  of  Friends  here- 
after to  do  for  them,  should  our  connexion  with  them  be  con- 
tinued. 

In  the  course  of  their  labors,  the  joint  Committees  of  the 
four  Yearly  meetings  here  referred  to,  have  encountered  many 
formidable  obstacles ;  and  among  other  difficulties  they  have 
had  to  struggle  with  a  powerful  combination,  composed  of  an 
influential  body  of  men,  deeply  interested,  and  resolutely  de- 
termined to  drive  these  Indians  from  the  homes  descended  to 


IV 

them,  through  many  generations,  from  their  forefathers,  and 
who  did  not  hesitate  to  resort  to  every  means  in  their  power 
to  effect  that  object.  The  result  that  must  have  followed  this 
cruel  purpose,  had  it  succeeded,  may  be  seen  in  the  melan- 
choly fate  which  befel  that  portion  of  the  Senecas,  who  were 
decoyed  off  to  the  west  in  the  summer  of  1846. 

When  the  committee  embarked  in  this  effort  to  change  the 
entire  habits  of  a  whole  community  or  nation,  strongly  attached 
as  these  Indians  were,  to  the  usages  and  practices  of  their  an- 
cestors, and  educated,  as  they  had  been,  in  a  hereditary  aver- 
sion to  the  institutions  of  civilization,  they  were  fully  aware 
that  the  undertaking  was  one  of  uncertain  issue,  and  under 
the  most  favorable  circumstances  must  have  been  expected  to 
involve,  much  time  and  labor.  By  steadily  persuing  their 
purpose  however,  cheered  under  the  most  adverse  circum- 
stances by  the  unbounded  confidence  of  the  Indians,  and  sus- 
tained by  the  consoling  assurances  of  their  own  feelings,  that 
they  were  endeavoring  to  discharge  what  they  believed  to  be 
their  duty,  towards  an  oppressed  and  grievously  wronged  peo- 
ple, they  yielded  to  no  discouragements,  and  have  now  the 
satisfaction  to  witness  a  most  favorable  and  radical  change,  ra- 
pidly advancing  among  the  Senecas,  affording  a  consoling 
prospect  that  this  remnant  of  a  once  numerous  and  powerful 
people,  will  be  rescued  from  the  melancholy  fate  that  has  be- 
fallen so  many  tribes  of  their  race  in  our  country. 

On  comparing  the  condition  of  those  Indians,  at  the  time 
when  they  came  under  the  care  of  Friends,  with  their  present 
situation,  it  will  be  seen,  that  there  has  been  an  improvement 
among  them,  even  greater  than  could  have  been  reasonably  antici- 
pated. We  found  them  without  a  home, — destitute,  desponding 
and  miserable — they  are  now  in  possession  of  a  sufficient  extent 
of  their  patrimonial  domain,  secured  to  them  by  a  title,  of  which 
they  cannot  be  despoiled,  but  with  their  own  consent,  and  by  their 
own  act — The}''  have  been  taught  to  cultivate  their  lands,  have 
comfortable  dwellings,  and  the  requisite  stock  and  implements, 
to  render  their  farms  sufficiently  productive  of  the  necessary  food 


for  their  families. — Many  of  their  children  have  received 
school  education,  and  the  condition  of  their  women,  has  been 
greatly  meliorated  and  improved,  with  the  prospect  that  here- 
after, they  will  occupy  a  much  more  comfortable  and  appropri- 
ate position,  than  formerly,  and  above  all,  the  Senecas  at  Cat- 
taraugus and  Alleghany,  from  having  formerly  been  generally 
addicted  to  the  excessive  use  of  spirituous  liquors,  have  been 
induced  to  exclude  all  intoxicating  drinks  from  their  Reserva- 
tions, and  are  become  a  sober,  and  to  a  considerable  extent, 
industrious  people. 


PROCEEDINGS 

OF    THE 

JOINT  COMMITTEE. 


In  the  year  18*27  Red  Jacket,  the  distinguished  Chief  of  the 
Seneca  nation,  then  filling  the  highest  station  his  people  could 
confer,  being  their  Head  or  chief  Sachem  ;  perceiving  his 
health  to  decline  and  the  infirmities  of  age  to  increase  upon 
him,  became  deeply  concerned  for  the  welfare  of  his  tribe. 
The  difficulties  and  dangers,  which  he  saw,  fast  gathering 
around  his  people,  rendered  him  desirous,  if  possible,  by  pre- 
cautionary measures,  to  avert  the  desolation  that  he  feared 
would  soon  overtake  them.  He  anxiously  cast  his  eye  round 
him  to  see  where  they  might  find  protection,  when  he  should 
be  removed  by  death, — or  to  use  his  own  expressions,  "  when 
my  warning  voice  shall  no  longer  be  heard,  and  the  foot  of  the 
Indian's  exulting  foe  may  with  safety  be  placed  upon  my 
grave."  Remembering  the  many  acts  of  kindness,  which  had, 
reciprocally  passed  between  his  fore-fathers  and  the  Society  of 
Friends,  as  handed  down  by  tradition  from  the  first  settlement 
of  Pennsylvania,  he  determined  to  apply  for  assistance  to  the 
Committee  on  Indian  affairs  of  New  York  Yearly  meeting. 
He  accordingly  proceeded  to  that  city,  and  made  a  personal 
appeal  to  the  Committee  ;  entreating  that  Friends  would  take 
his  people  under  their  care,  with  a  view  to  their  civilization 
and  instruction  in  agriculture,  but  more  particularly  with  a 
hope  that  they  might  be  able  to  protect  them  from  the  intru- 
sions of  the  white  people,  and  the  evils  of  the  land  speculators. 

That  Committee  had  then  under  their  care  the  Onondago 


8 

tribe  of  Indians,  and  did  not  see  their  way  clear  to  come  under 
any  additional  responsibilities.  They  informed  him  of  this 
conclusion,  and  at  the  same  time  stated  that  the  subject  should 
be  more  maturely  considered, — that  it  should  be  submitted  to 
the  consideration  of  the  next  Yearly  meeting,  and  that  when 
prepared,  the  Committee  would  give  him  an  answer. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  year  1829,  and  not  many  months  be- 
fore his  decease  Red  Jacket  renewed  his  application  for  the 
assistance  of  Friends,  and  in  an  earnest  appeal  to  the  Commit- 
tee, eloquently  invoking  their  sympathy  and  friendship,  he  laid 
before  them  the  following  Address  in  writing : 

January  20,  1829. 
*'  To  the  Society  of  Friends  of  the  City  of  JSCew  York, 

"  At  the  treaty  of  Philadelphia  with  William  Penn  and  the 
six  nations,  we  considered  William  Penn  as  a  friend  to  us,  not 
wishing  to  cheat  us  out  of  our  lands,  but  disposed  to  pay  us  a 
fair  value  for  them.  Since  that  time  the  Society  of  Friends 
have  treated  us  very  kindly.  They  have  never  shewn  a  dispo- 
sition to  wrong  us  out  of  our  lands,  but  seemed  to  wish  to  cul- 
tivate friendship  with  us,  and  to  let  us  have  our  rights  and 
privileges,  as  well  as  to  let  us  enjoy  our  religion. 

"  But  there  are  certain  persons  residing  among  us  at  present, 
who,  we  believe,  have  a  different  object.  They  say  they  have 
been  sent  by  the  Great  Spirit ;  but  we  do  not  think  the  Great 
Spirit  would  send  people  among  us  to  cheat  us  out  of  our 
lands,  and  to  cause  dissentions  to  arise  among  us ;  which  have 
made  a  division  in  our  nation.  No !  We  do  not  think  the 
Great  Spirit  sent  the  black  coats  among  us,  for  any  such  pur- 
pose. There  are  at  present  six  thousand  of  our  people,  and 
upwards,  who  wish  the  Society  of  Friends  to  send  a  suitable 
person  among  us,  and  teach  our  young  men  how  to  til  the 
crround,  and  our  young  women  the  arts  of  domestic  manufac- 
tures, and  to  read  and  write. 

"  If  our  friends  feel  disposed  to  comply  with  our  wishes,  we 


9 

shall  be  happy  to  receive  them,  and  will  cause  all  the  neces- 
sary buildings  to  be  erected  for  their  use.  We  think  by  having 
this  plan  carried  into  effect,  our  nation  will  once  more  become 
a  united  and  happy  people. 

"Farewell,  from  your  friend, 

RED  «  JACKET. 

As  interpreted  by  J.  Grant,  Interpretor.^' 

Owing  to  the  disturbed  and  unsettled  state  of  Society  at  that 
time,  it  was  concluded  to  take  no  immediate  action  in  the  case, 
and  Red  Jacket  was  so  informed.  On  hearing  this  decision 
he  appeared  to  be  greatly  dejected,  and  again  renewed  his  suit, 
urgently  pressing  Friends  to  reconsider  his  request.  Sympa- 
thizing \vith  the  noble  chief  in  his  paternal  concern  for  the 
preservation  and  welfare  of  his  nation,  a  few  Friends  concluded 
to  invite  him  to  a  private  interview,  at  one  ot  their  houses,  in 
order  to  have  a  further  conference  with  him  on  the  subject  of 
his  concern.  The  proposed  meeting  was  had  accordingly, 
when  he  was  met  on  the  part  of  Friends  by  Israel  Corse, 
William  C.  White,  Robert  Hicks,  and  some  others. 

At  this  interview.  Red  Jacket  pressed  his  suit,  by  stating 
many  circumstances  and  considerations,  from  which  it  appear- 
ed, that  in  his  estimation,  the  very  existence  of  his  nation  was 
in  jeopardy ;  and  he  concluded  by  declaring,  with  affecting 
emphasis,  that  "  the  Society  of  Friends,  was  now  his  only 
hope," — that  he  knew  them  well,  and  was  fully  satisfied  that 
if  they  would  take  his  people  under  their  care,  they  might  yet 
be  preserved  from  destruction.  He  stated  with  much  feeling, 
that  he  was  now  an  old  man,  that  he  must  shortly  be  gathered 
to  the  graves  of  his  fathers,  and  that  his  descent  to  the  tomb 
would  be  made  easy  by  the  assurance  that  his  nation,  after  his 
decease,  would  be  under  the  care  and  protection  of  Friends. 
They  had  gained  his  entire  confidence  and  the  confidence  of 
the  Seneca  nation,  by  their  long  continued  and  disinterested 

labors  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians  of  this  country. 

2 


10 

rfotwithstanding  the  deep  concern  and  sympathy  fielt  by 
Friends,  on  hearing  the  urgent  appeal  of  this  aged  and  venera- 
ble Chief,  they  were  not  prepared  to  come  to  any  definite  con- 
clusion in  relation  to  his  request.  It  was  however  agreed  to 
lay  his  application  before  the  ensuing  Yearly  meeting  of  New 
York,  to  be  held  in  the  spring  of  that  year, — ^\vhich  was  ac- 
cordingly done,  and  the  subject  was  then  referred  to  the  atten- 
tion of  a  Committee  of  men  and  women  Friends,  with  instruc- 
tions to  extend  such  care  towards  these  Indians,  as  they  might 
be  enabled  to  render. 

Before  taking  any  measures  in  the  case,  the  Committee  de- 
cided to  appoint  a  sub-committee,  with  authority  to  visit  the 
Seneca  nation,  ascertain  more  particularly  their  circumstances, 
and  especially  how  far  it  was  the  general  wish  of  the  nation, 
that  Friends  should  extend  to  their  people  that  assistance  and 
care  Avhich  had  been  solicited  by  their  Chief  Sachem. 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1830,  this  deputation  proceeded  to 
make  them  a  visit,  and  at  the  Buffalo  Reservation  met  in  Coun- 
cil fourteen  of  their  Chiefs,  and  about  two  hundred  of  their 
people.  From  Buffalo  they  proceeded  to  Cattaraugus,  where 
they  met  in  Council  five  of  their  Chiefs,  and  about  one  hun- 
dred of  their  people.  At  these  conferences  the  sub-committee 
was  informed  "  that  the  Address  presented  last  year  to  Friends 
in  New  York,  dated  January  20th,  1829,  was  agreed  to  in  a 
General  Council  of  all  the  tribes,  or  settlements,  from  Buffalo 
to  Allegany,  and  that  it  was  a  true  expression  of  the  wishes  of 
all  their  people  except  the  Missionary  party" — that  they  now 
renewed  their  earnest  entreaty  ''to  Friends,  that  they  would 
send  some  person  or  persons  among  them,  to  teach  them  agri- 
culture and  domestic  manufactures." 

This  information  was  laid  before  the  Yearly  meeting  in  the 
Fifth  month,  1830,  with  the  judgment  of  the  Committee  that, 
"essential  and  lasting  benefit  may  be  conferred  on  those  In- 
dians by  the  extension  of  care  to  them  by  the  Yearly  meeting." 
Which  being  approved  by  the  meeting,  several  Friends  were 
added  to  the  committee,  and  thev  were   encouraged  to  render 


11 

the  desired  aid.  This  Committee  in  order  to  be  enabled  to 
proceed  advisedly,  appointed  a  deputation  to  make  another 
visit  to  the  Seneca  nation,  to  obtain  fuller  information  relative 
to  their  disposition,  location,  and  other  circumstances  neces- 
sary to  be  known,  in  order  effectually  to  carry  out  the  design 
of  the  Yearly  meeting. 

The  Committee  having  performed  the  duties  assigned  them, 
so  far  as  way  had  yet  opened,  drew  up  a  Report,  which  was 
submitted  to  the  ensuing  Yearly  meeting.  In  this  Report  they 
state,  that  "  at  a  General  Council,  in  which  both  the  Christian 
and  Pagan  parties  were  present,  the  Indians  appeared  very 
grateful  for  this  attention  on  the  part  of  Friends,  stating  that 
they  believed  the  Great  Spirit  had  put  it  into  the  hearts  of  the 
children  of  William  Penn  to  thus  visit  them, — expressing  an 
anxious  desire  that  some  of  us  would  come  out  and  live  amonfir 
them,  to  teach  their  young  men  to  til  the  ground,  and  their 
young  women  to  spin,  knit,  and  sew." 

After  duly  considering  this  information,  the  Yearly  meeting 
concluded  to  instruct  the  Committee  to  continue  their  attention 
to  this  service :  And  a  Friend  having  offered  to  remove  and 
reside  among  these  Indians,  his  proposals  were  accepted,  and 
it  was  arranged  that  he  should  be  located  at  Cattaraugus,  with 
instructions  to  extend  such  care  and  assistance  to  the  people  of 
that  Reservation  as  he  mio;ht  be  enabled  to  render.  A  dele2:a- 
tion  of  several  Friends  was  apposnted  to  visit  the  settlement, 
and  authorized  to  make  such  arrano-ements  with  the  Indians  in 
relation  to  the  residence  and  duties  of  the  Friend  who  was  to 
remove  there,  as  would  be  satisfactory  to  them. 

The  Committee  after  arriving  at  the  Reservation,  had  a  con- 
ference with  the  Indians,  Vv^hen  it  was  agreed  that  a  Farm  of 
two  hundred  acres  should  be  laid  off  in  a  situation  most  suita- 
ble for  the  purposes  intended,  to  be  occupied  by  Friends,  so 
long  as  they  might  continue  their  labors,  in  accordance  with 
the  desire  of  the  Indians.  This  being  done,  about  seventy 
acres  were  cleared  and  fenced,  and  a  commodious  dwelling 


12 

and  school  house  were  erected,  together  with  a  barn  and  other 
requisite  improvements,  for  the  accommodation  of  a  family. 

The  establishment  was  organized  and  the  school  opened  in  the 
year  1833.  It  was  attended  by  an  average  number  of  twenty- 
five  children. 

Soon  after  these  arrangements  were  so  far  completed,  a 
communication    was    received    from    the    Chiefs,    expressing 

their  satisfaction  with  what  had  been  done,  and  again  earnest- 
ly requesting  Friends  to  continue  their  labors  for  the  edu- 
cation of  their  children,  and  to  protect  them  against  the  en- 
croachment of  the  white  people,  who,  as  they  stated,  were 
constantly  using  means  to  take  advantage  of  them.  About  this 
time  the  Indians  of  the  Tonewanda  Reservation,  desired  the 
care  and  assistance  of  Friends,  but  no  way  opened  to  grant 
their  request. 

In  the  year  1834,  after  the  establishment  of  Genessee  Yearly 
meeting,  Friends  of  that  meetino;  became  interested  for  the 
welfare  of  the  Indians,  and  united  with  New  York  Yearly 
meetino-  in  the  concern.  From  that  time  the  more  immediate 
care  and  superintendence  of  the  establishment  at  Cattaraugus 
devolved  on  Genessee  Friends,  who  attended  to  the  duties  of 
that  department  with  satisfactory  results  until  the  year  1838. 

In  the  Fifth  month,  1837,  the  Yearly  meeting  of  Philadel- 
phia, under  some  general  view  of  the  difficulties  in  which  the 
Indian  natives,  yet  remaining  East  of  the  Mississippi,  were 
involved  ;  became  concerned  to  renew  its  labors  for  their  bene- 
fit. A  Committee  was  accordingly  appointed,  chosen  out  of 
each  Quarterly  meeting,  and  consisting  of  thirty-two  members ; 
to  whom  the  subject  was  committed,  with  instruction  to  "  en- 
quire into  the  concern,  and  to  propose  to  next  Yearly  meeting 
what  they  might  deem  suitable  on  the  occasion." 

At  the  time  that  Committe  was  appointed,  the  Yearly  meet- 
ing was  almost  wholly  ignorant  of  the  pecuUar  situation  and 
circumstances  of  the  Seneca  nation ;  as  is  evident  from  its 
Minute,  which  only  authorized  its  Committee  to  "  enquire  into 
the  concern  and  to  propose  measures  for  its  future  consi- 
deration.'* 


1<^ 

In  the  year  1838  that  Committee  made  a  report  to  its  Yearly 
meeting,  in  which  they  state,  that~efforts  to  induce  the  Indians 
to  part  with  their  lands  were  causing  difficulties  and  divisions 
among  them, — that  at  a  Council  recently  held  with  them,  near 
Buffalo,  a  Treaty  had  been  signed  by  some  of  their  Chiefs, 
agreeing  to  cede  four  of  their  Reservations,  and  that,  notwith- 
standing a  remonstrance  from  a  large  number  of  them,  fears 
were  entertained  that  it  might  be  sanctioned  by  the  General 
Government,  in  which  event  those  under  the  care  of  Friends 
would  be  removed  far  to  the  West.  And  they  further  say, 
"but  in  case  this  treaty,  which  appears  to  have  been  obtained 
by  fraud,  and  against  the  will  of  a  large  majority  of  the  In- 
dians, should  not  be  ratified  by  Government,,  it  is  believed  the 
advice  and  care  of  Friends  towards  them,  might  have  an  influ- 
ence to  encourage  them  to  habits  of  industry  in  the  improve- 
ment of  their  lands, — of  temperance  and  domestic  economy,  and 
might  prevent  them  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  avaricious 
and  designing  speculators.  We  therefore  suggest  to  the  Yearly 
meeting  the  propriety  of  having  a  standing  Committee  appoint- 
ed, in  order  to  embrace  any  suitable  opportunity  of  affording 
such  advice  and  assistance  as  may  be  deemed  needful,  and  to 
place  at  the  disposal  of  such  Committee  a  sum  not  exceeding 
five  hundred  dollars  for  this  object."  This  report  being  united 
with  by  the  Yearly  meeting,  it  appointed  a  Committee  of  nine- 
teen Friends,  to  give  such  attention  to  the  subject  as  they 
might  deem  needful. 

Hitherto  the  action  of  the  Committee  of  Philadelphia  Yearly 
meeting,  had  been  confined  to  correspondence  by  letter  with 
Friends  of  Genessee  Yearly  meeting,  and  to  personal  inquiries 
for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  such  information  as  might  qualify 
them  for  usefulness  to  the  objects  of  their  care.  So  extensive 
and  intricate  a  case,  involving  so  many  subjects  of  inquiry,  re- 
quired caution,  and  made  it  necessary  to  obtain  a  full  and  ac- 
curate knowledge  of  the  subject,  in  order  to  fulfil  the  object  of 
their  appointment. 

In  the  winter  of  1838-9  that  Committee  appointed  a  few  of 


14 

tlieir  number  to  proceed  to  Washington  on  behalf  ot  the  Sene- 
ca Indians,  and  to  solicit  for  them  the  protection  of  the  Govern- 
ment. On  their  return  they  reported  that  they  had  an  inter- 
view with  the  President,  and  several  members  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  by  whom  they  were  kindly  re- 
ceived. They  add  "  and  though  they  were  informed  that  it 
was  the  settled  policy  of  the  Government  to  remove  the  aborigines 
west  of  the  Mississippi  river,  as  soon  as  practicable,  yet  they 
felt  assured  that  the  interference  of  Friends  was  timely,  and 
awakened  a  more  lively  interest  in  the  subject." 

At  the  Yearly  meeting  in  the  spring  of  1839  the  Committee 
made  report  of  the  proceedings  during  the  past  year,  in  which 
they  say,  "  Notwithstanding  the  many  discouragements  which 
the  present  circumstances  of  the  Aborigines  present,  we  believe 
that  as  the  voice  of  truth  and  justice  is  raised  to  plead  their 
cause,  it  will  not  be  in  vain : — and  we  hope  the  same  kind 
feeling  which  has  heretofore  been  manifested  by  the  Society  of 
Friends  for  this  portion  of  our  oppressed  and  injured  fellow 
men,  may  continue  to  be  cherished,  and  every  right  opening 
cheerfully  embraced,  to  extend  towards  them  that  assistance, 
which  justice  and  christian  sympathy  require."  The  Commit- 
tee was  continued  to  pay  further  attention  to  the  subject,  and 
to  report  to  the  ensuing  Yearly  meeting  an  account  of  its  pro- 
ceedings. 

Up  to  this  period  no  joint  action  of  the  three  Yearly  meet- 
ings of  Genessee,  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  had  taken 
place  :  but  in  the  summer  of  1839  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  having  authorized  the  Secretary  of  War,  to  hold  a 
Council  with  the  Seneca  nation  at  Cattaraugus,  invited  Friends 
of  those  three  Yearly  meetings,  charged  with  the  Indian  concern, 
to  attend  that  Council.  As  the  Council  was  to  be  held  for  the 
express  purpose  of  submitting  to  the  Senecas  the  Treaty,alledged 
to  be  fraudulent,  and  which  had  been  the  cause  of  so  much 
distrust  and  difficulty.  Friends  promptly  accepted  the  invitation 
to  attend  it.  It  was  an  opportunity  so  rare  and  so  desirable  for 
obtaining  a  full  and  authentic  knowledge   of  the   facts  and 


15 

circumstances  of  this  intricate  subject,  that  Friends  believed  it 
to  be  their  duty  to  be  present  on  that  interesting  occasion. 

On  the  12th  of  the  Eighth  month,  1839,  the  Council  was 
assembled  pursuant  to  appointment.  Several  Officers  of  the 
General  Government  •'were  present.  General  Dearborn  the 
Agent  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  and  Judge  Stryker,  the 
United  States  Agent  for  the  Seneca  nation,  with  other  distin- 
guished individuals  attended.  Many  speeches,  both  on  the 
part  of  the  Officers  of  Government,  and  of  the  Indians  by  their 
Chiefs,  were  made,  and  much  information  elicited  of  great  im- 
portance to  those,  whose  duty  it  was  to  plead  the  cause  of  a 
deeply  injured  and  suffering  people.  But  no  other  satisfactory 
result  was  obtained. 

Having  by  this  and  other  means  gained  much  information  in 
relation  to  the  objects  of  their  mission,  delegates  from  the  three 
Yearly  meetings  were  appointed  to  lay  the  same  before  the 
President  of  the  United  States.  When  this  delegation  on  their 
way  to  the  seat  of  Government,  arrived  at  Baltimore,  they 
found  the  Yearly  meeting  of  Friends,  held  in  that  city,  was 
then  in  session.  The  subject  of  our  concern,  and  some  of  the 
facts  in  relation  to  the  Indians,  were  opened  in  that  meeting ; 
which,  entering  into  deep  sympathy  with  that  suffering  people, 
directed  its  Indian  Committee,  to  unite  with  the  Committees  of 
the  three  Yearly  meetings  of  Genessee,  New  York,  and  Phila- 
delphia, in  their  endeavors  to  assist  and  protect  them. 

Thus  united,  the  delegates  of  the  four  Yearly  meetings  pro- 
ceeded to  Washington,  and  on  the  2d  of  the  Eleventh  month, 
1839,  presented  to  the  President  the  following  Memorial. 

«'  To  the  President  of  the  TJaited  States: 

"The  undersigned,  on  belief  of  the  several  committees  on  In- 
dian concerns,  appointed  by  the  four  Yearly  Meetings  of  Friends 
of  Genesee,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore, 
Respectfully  represent  : 

"  That  the  religious  Society  of  Friends,  since  the  first  settle- 
ment of    Pennyslvania,  has   ever  maintained   with  the  abori- 


16 

gines  of  our  country,  the  most  cordial  and  friendly  relations. 
The  numerous  acts  of  kindness — the  protection  and  support- 
deceived  by  our  emigrating  ancestors  from  that  people,  have 
left  on  the  minds  of  their  successors,  the  most  lasting  impres- 
sions of  gratitude.  The  friendship  cemented  by  the  justice 
and  magnanimity  of  WilUam  Penn,  on  the  one  side,  and  by 
the  benevolent  conduct  of  the  natives  on  the  other,  has  been 
as  lasting  as  it  was  honorable  to  both.  The  original  treaty  be- 
tween them  was  never  violated  on  either  side.  When  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  colonial  government  had  passed  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  Proprietaries,  Friends  did  not  forget  the  obligations 
of  gratitude  and  justice.  On  all  proper  occasions  they  have  ap- 
peared on  behalf  of  the  Indians,  as  their  friends  and  councellors. 
They  sent  agents  to  reside  among  them  to  instruct  them  in  the 
arts  of  civilized  life  ;  and,  at  great  expense  of  time  and  money; 
labored  for  their  civilization  and  improvement.  The  Senecas, 
Tuscaroras,  Cayugas,  Onondagas,  and  Oneidas,  from  their 
proximity  to  the  settlements  of  our  people,  became  the  pecu- 
liar objects  of  our  care. 

"It  is  not,  therefore,  from  any  desire  to  meddle  in  the  affairs 
of  government,  or  to  call  in  question  the  benevolence  of  its 
intentions,  or  to  interfere  with  the  just  claims  of  any  of  our 
fellow-cititizens,  that  we  appear  on  the  present  occasion. — 
Our  objects  is,  that  the  government  of  our  country  may  ex- 
ercise justice  and  mercy  towards  a  weak  and  defenceless  peo- 
ple, and  maintain  a  character  that,  while  it  stands  without 
reproach  in  the  face  of  the  world,  will  command  the  respect 
of  every  virtuous  citizen. 

"A  treaty,  concluded  between  the  United  States  and  some 
of  the  chiefs,  headmen,  and  warriors,  of  the  several  tribes  of 
New  York  Indians,  bearing  date  January  15,  1838,  was,  by 
the  President,  transmitted  to  the  Senate  for  its  consideration. 
The  great  object  of  this  treaty,  on  the  part  of  the  government, 
was  the  removal  of  that  people  to  certain  lands  assigning  them 
beyond  the  Mississippi.  The  Senate,  designing  to  do  justice  be- 
tween the  parties  interested,  and  to  shield  the  Indians  from  the 


17 

aggressions  and  frauds  of  the  whites,  with  a  magnanimity  proper 
to  the  exalted  station  assigned  it  by  the  Constitution,  refused 
to  ratify  that  instrument  in  form  as  presented.  The  treaty 
was  amended  in  several  important  particulars,  and  it  was  then 
ordered,  that  so  modified,  it  should  be  "fully  and  fairly  ex- 
plained to  each  tribe,  separately,  in  open  council,  and  that  a 
majority  of  the  chiefs  should  voluntarily  and  freely  assent  to 
each  and  all  of  the  amendments  made  by  the  Senate."  This 
being  done,  and  the  treaty  signed  by  such  majority,  it  was  to  be 
binding,  otherwise  to  have  no  force  or  effect. 

The  object  of  the  Senate,  in  thus  directing  that  the  treaty  so 
amended  should  be  "fully  and  fairly  explained  in  open  coun- 
cil,'" was  obviously  to  prevent  frauds,  so  easily  practiced  by 
artful  men  upon  an  unlettered  and  unsuspecting  people.  The 
Senate  well  knew  that  all  the  means  which  avarice  could  bring 
into  action,  might  be  privately  employed,  in  order  to  remove 
the  Indians.  They  knew  that  116,000  acres  of  fertile 
land,  surrounded  by  populous  cities  and  towns,  in  the  very 
heart  of  an  agricultural  district,  highly  improved  and  extreme- 
ly productive,  w^ere  a  great  temptation,  and  they  wisely  and 
honorably  prescribed  that  the  transaction  should  take  place  in 
^''open  council.''^ 

The  directions  of  the  Senate,  so  far  as  they  enjoined  that 
the  amendments  to  the  treaty  should  be  "  fully  and  fairly  ex- 
plained to  each  of  the  tribes  in  open  council,"  appear  to  have 
been  complied  with :  and  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  the  Indians 
well  understood  those  explanations.  But  what  was  the  result? 
The  United  States  commissioner,  in  a  letter  dated  Washington, 
October  25,  1838,  says.  "  I  then  received  sixteen  signa- 
tures." 

On  the  part  of  those  who  are  in  favor  of  emigrating,  it  is 
affirmed  that  the  number  of  chiefs,  duly  qualified,  is  but  eighty- 
one  ;  while  the  non-emigrating  party  declare  there  are  upwards 
of  ninety.  Taking,  however,  the  lowest  number,  there  were 
but  sixteen  chiefs  out  of  eighty-one  who   signed  the  treaty  in 

"open  council.'^ 
3 


18 

But  the  commissioner  (by  what  authority,  is  not  slated)  had 
informed  the  Indians,  that  "those  who  from /ear,  or  other 
cause,  should  prefer  to  sign  the  treaty  at  his  room,  might  diO 
so."  In  pursuance  of  this  arrangement,  thirteen  chiefs  were 
induced  to  come  forward  and  sign  the  treaty  in  the  commis- 
sioner's room  !  Subsequently  two  other  signatures  were  ob- 
tained, by  waiting  on  the  chiefs  in  their  own  private  houses !' 
Thus  the  names  of  thirty-one.  out  of  more  than  eighty  chiefs, 
appear  as  sanctioning  that  treaty  1 

Of  this  procedure  on  the  part  of  the  commissioner,  the  In- 
dians, heavily  complain.  They  affirm  it  to  have  been  the 
uniform  practice  of  the  nation  to  execute  such  instruments 
in  open  council,  unless  in  cases  were  delegates  were  spe- 
cially appointed  by  the  nation  for  that  purpose.  To  a  peo' 
pie  who  have  not  the  use  of  a  written  language,  customs  sanc- 
tioned by  immemorial  usage,  have  the  force  of  laws,  are  res- 
pected by  them  as  such,  and  ought  to  be  so  respected  by 
others.  It  requires  but  little  knowledge  of  human  nature 
to  perceive  that  the  mode  of  procuring  signatures  to  a 
treaty,  as  adopted  by  the  commississioner,  if  sanctioned  by  the 
government,  must  open  a  door  for  all  manner  of  corruption  and 
fraud.  That  it  did  so  on  the  present  occasion,  is  affirmed 
by  the  Indians,  and  proved  by  a  long  train  of  evidence  of 
unquestionable  character. 

If  the  Senate,  by  directing  that  an  explanation  of  the  amend- 
ments should  be  had  in  open  council,  intended  to  prevent 
frauds,  why  should  their  execution  be  in  private  1  We  can- 
not perceive  that  there  is  more,  or  even  as  much  danger  of 
fraud  in  a  private  explanation  as  there  is  in  a  private  execution 
of  a  treaty ;  and  we  see  no  ground  in  the  resolution  of  the 
Senate,  for  supposing  that  it  intended  a  private  execution  of 
that  instrument. 

The  treaty,  thus  signed,  was  returned  to  the  Executive.  Not 
satisfied  that  the  requisitions  of  the  Senate  had  been  comph- 
ed  with,  the  President,  with  a  just  regard  to  the  high  trust  re- 


19 

posed  in  him,  refused  to  sanction  the  proceedings  of  the  com- 
missioners, so  far  as  re2:ards  the  Seneca  nation. 

Having  failed  to  obtain  such  an  assent  to  the  amended  treaty 
as  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  required,  the  commissioner  again 
repaired  to  the  Seneca  nation,  and  there  directed  the  sub- 
agent  of  the  United  States  to  give  public  notice  that  he  was 
present  and  authorized  to  take  the  signatures  of  such  chiefs  as 
desired  to  give  them.  In  his  second  report  to  the  Office  of 
Indian  Affairs,  he  says:  "After  this  notice,  ten  additional 
names  were  received  to  the  assent,  making  in  all  forhj-one." 
Three  additional  names  were  subsequently  forwarded  to  Wash- 
ington, after  the  treaty  was  under  consideration. 

It  becomes  our  duty  now  to  show  by  what  means  the  names 
of  a  very  considerable  number  of  the  chiefs  who  signed,  or 
appear  to  have  signed  that  treaty,  became  attached  to  it.  We 
hare  seen  that  only  sixteen  of  them  signed  it  in  open  council ; 
the  others,  amounting  to  twenty-eight,  were  privately  obtained. 

It  may  be  proper  here  to  premise,  (though  the  fact  is  gener- 
ally known,)  that  the  Ogden  Company  holds  a  pre-emptive 
claim  to  the  lands  of  the  Seneca  Indians ;  that  is,  as  we  under- 
stand it,  an  exclusive  right  to  purchase  these  lands  when  the 
present  owners  choose  to  sell  them.  This  right  is  vested  in 
that  company  by  purchase  from  the  assigns  of  the  State  of  Mas- 
sachusetts. Powerful  in  its  recourses,  this  company  is  seeking, 
by  various  means,  to  dispossess  the  Indians.  Whenever  and 
wherever  a  treaty  is  to  be  held  with  this  nation,  then  and  there 
we  find  the  Ogden  Land  Company,  by  its  agents,  prepared 
to  put  in  operation  their  measures  to  persuade  or  drive  these 
Indians  from  their  present  homes. 

Among  the  various  means  employed  to  obtain  signatures  to 
the  treaty  one  is,  by  large  rewards  and  specious  promises,  to 
secure  the  services  of  influential  chiefs,  and  binding:  them  to 
*'  use  their  best  exertions  and  endeavors  to  dispose  and  induce 
the  said  Indians  to  sell  and  release,  by  treaty,  their  lands." 
By  sundry  documents,  exhibited  to  us  by  the  Seneca  Indians 
at  the  late  council  held  at  Cattaraugus,  it  appears,  that  to  eight 


:.^:^= 


20 

chiels  of  that  nation,  the  payment  of  $21,600  was  promised, 
upon  the  faith  of  written  articles  duly  executed  by  the  com- 
pany's agent,  for  the  purpose  aforesaid. 

By  an  article  of  agreement  between  the  said  agent  and  John 
Snow,  a  Seneca  chief,  dated  29th  July,  1837,  the  said  chief 
was  to  receive  the  sum  of  $2,000  and  a  lease  for  life  of  the 
farm  on  which  he  resides.  Afterward,  when  the  amended 
treaty  was  pressed  upon  him,  he  declares,  under  oath,  that  Gen- 
eral Potter,  agent  of  said  company,  offered  him,  $4,000  if  he 
would  sim  the  assent  to  the  amendments,  and  that  he  should 
have  a  deed  for  two  hundred  and  thirty  acres  of  land  wherever 
he  should  choose  it,  and  that  deponent's  wife  might  call  on  him 
for  $50.  After  his  signature  was  obtained,  as  described  in  the 
affidavit,  Potter  made  him  a  present  of  $100. 

Samuel  Gordon,  another  of  said  chiefs,  by  an  article  dated 
August  7,  1837,  was  to  receive  for  his  services  in  the  premises 
the  sum  of  $6,000. 

George  Bennett,  another  chief,  by  an  article  bearing  date  Au- 
gust 7,  1837,  was  to  receive  on  the  same  account  the  sum  of 
$6,000. 

George  Blgdeer,  another  of  said  chiefs,  for  the  like  services, 
was  to  receive  the  sum  of  $1,000  and  a  lease  for  ten  years  of 
the  land  on  which  he  resided,  containing  about  fifty  acres,  as 
appears  by  an  article  dated  September  16,  18S7. 

Blue  Eyes,  another  chiefof  that  nation,  ioi  signing  the  treaty, 
and  for  his  services  aforesaid,  was  to  receive  $2,000  and  a  lease 
for  life  of  the  land  on  which  he  resided,  containing  about  fifty 
acres. 

Jacob  Jimeson,  another  Seneca  chief,  for  his  services  as  a- 
foresaid,  and  for  signing  the  said  treaty,  was  to  receive  $1,000. 
John  Gordon,  a  chiefof  said  nation,  for  signing  the  said  treaty , 
and  for  services  as  aforesaid,  was  to  receive  $1,100  and  a  lease 
for  ten  years  of  about  sixty  acres  of  land,  improved  and  now 
occupied  by  him,  on  the  Alleghany  reservation. 

Levi  Halftown,  a  Seneca  chief,  for  bis  services  and  influence, 


21 

was  to  receive  S500  and  a  lease  for  about  sixty  acres,  to  hold 
the  same  so  long  as  he  shall  continue  to  live  thereon. 

The  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs,  to  whom  was  referred  the 
President's  message,  dated  January  21,  1839,  transmitting  a 
treaty,  as  amended  by  the  Senate,  in  their  able  and  lucid  report, 
say:  **  Those  opposed  to  the  treaty  accuse  several  of  those 
who  have  signed  their  assent  to  the  amended  treaty  with  hav- 
ing been  bribed^  and,  in  at  least  one  instance,  they  make  out 
the  charge  very  clearly."  We  trust  the  accompanying  docu- 
ments, containing  copies  of  similar  contracts,  will  make  out  the 
charge  with  equal  clearness ;  in  other  instances  and  by  fair  in- 
ference we  may  conclude  the  charge  true  in  many  cases  not 
yet  come  to  light. 

But  we  have  seen  that,  in  addition  to  the  sum  of  ^21,600,  to 
be  paid  to  the  aforenamed  eight  chiefs,  as  a  reward  for  seduc- 
ing their  fellow  chiefs  to  sell  the  lands  of  their  unwilling  con- 
stituents, there  was  an  engagement  entered  into,  by  the  agent  of 
the  Ogden  Land  Company,  to  give  four  of  the  said  chiefs  leases 
of  lands  on  their  present  reservations ;  some  for  life,  some  for 
a  term  of  years,  some  during  actual  occupation,  and  one  a  fee 
simple  title  for  230  acres,  "on  condition  of  services  to  be 
[by  them]  faithfully  performed  in  the  premises,"  &c.  By 
such  leases  and  conveyances  the  apparent  order  of  things  is  to 
be  curiously  reserved !  The  emigrating  party  is  to  stay  at 
home,  while  the  party  averse  to  a  removal  are  to  be  driven 
from  their  lands  and  firesides  against  their  consent !  We  have 
no  doubt,  from  a  variety  of  evidence,  that  one  of  the  most 
powerful  inducements  offered  to  the  emigrating  chiefs  (under 
the  impression,  from  repeated  assurances,  that  the  treaty  would, 
at  all  events,  be  enforced,)  was  the  belief  that,  if  they  com- 
plied with  the  wishes  of  the  Ggden  Company,  they  would  be 
permitted  to  live  and  die  on  their  native  ground ! 

Little  Joe,  a  warrior  of  the  Seneca  nation,  resident  at  Buffa- 
lo, in  an  affidavit  taken  before  H.  A.  Salisbury,  dated  February 
7,  1839,  deposes  and  says :  "There  were  frequent  meetings  of 
the  purchasing  company  with  those  who  were  hired  as  runners 


22 

to  devise  means  to  accomplish  the  company's  purpose  ;  that, 
at  such  meetings,  there  was  a  bounty  of  $40  per  name  offered 
to  such  runners  as  should  obtain  the  signatures  of  chiefs  to 
papers  said  to  be  powers  of  attorney,  made  either  to  the  Indian 
agent  or  one  of  the  company,  or  one  of  the  emigrating  Indians, 
empowering  said  agent,  one  of  the  said  company,  or  Indians, 
to  affix  said  chief's  names  to  the  assent  to  the  amendment ; 
and  further,  that  the  runners  were  instructed  to  leave  no 
means  untried  to  obtain  the  signatures  of  chiefs  to  said  papers, 
especially  with  such  as  could  be  worked  upon  by  liquor." 

David  White,  a  chief  of  the  Seneca  nation,  residing  at  Buffa- 
lo, by  affidavit  bearing  date  February  7,  1839,  deposes,  that 
while  commissioner  Gillet  was  in  Buffalo  last  fall,  one  John 
Jimeson  (an  Indian  and  runner  for  the  purchasing  company) 
came  to  this  deponent  and  offered  him  $1,000,  cash  in  hand, 
provided  this  deponent  would  go  down  to  Buffalo  to  the  man- 
sion house  (a  tavern)  and  sign  the  assent  to  the  Senate's 
amendments,  which  deponent  absolutely  refused  !  Such  were 
some  of  the  means  used  to  effect  the  company's  purposes ;  but 
others,  if  possible,  still  more  objectionable,  will  now  be  advert- 
ed to. 

By  an  affidavit,  signed  by  Big  Kettle  and  seven  other  chiefs 
of  the  Seneca  nation,  bearing  date  February  7,  1839,  it  appears 
that  John  Hutchinson,  Charles  Greybeard,  and  Fisher  Peirce, 
three  Indians  of  that  nation,  residing  at  Cattaraugus,  had  at- 
tached their  names  to  the  amended  treaty  as  chiefs,  and  that 
they  obtained  this  title  by  a  sham  election  at  a  tavern  in  Buf- 
falo last  fall !  The  deponents  say  that  such  an  election  is  frau- 
dulent ,  no  election  to  the  office  of  chief  being  valid  unless 
sanctioned  by  the  Six  Nations  in  council  assembled. 

John  General,  a  chief  of  the  Seneca  Nation,  in  his  affidavit, 
dated  February  7,  1839,  says,  that,  near  the  close  of  the  coun- 
cil held  last  summer  by  R.  H.  Gillet,  being  on  his  way  to  Buf- 
falo, he  was  enticed  by  one  of  the  runners  of  the  purchasing 
company  into  a  tavern  and  pressed  to  drink  some  ardent  spirits, 
which  he  did,  and  finallv  became  intoxicated,  in  which  state 


23 

he  was  strongly  pressed  to  sign  the  assent  to  the  amended 
treaty,  which  he  constantly  refused.  He  further  deposes  that 
he  has  since  been  informed  his  name  is  affixed  to  it ;  and  so- 
lemnly declares,  that  he  never  so  affixed  it,  unless  it  was  when 
he  was  so  drunk  that  he  did  not  know  it,  and  has  never  since 
remembered  it. 

In  a  letter  from  one  hundred  and  forty  young  warriors  of  the 
Seneca  nation  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  dated  April  6,  1839, 
they  say :  "  The  fact  is,  that  those  chiefs  who  are  in  favor  of 
emigration  have,  almost  to  a  man,  by  bargains  with  the  pur- 
chasing company,  provided  for  the  future  residence  of  them- 
selves and  families  for  life  !  Those  very  men  who  are  most 
urgent  for  us  to  go,  are  the  very  men  Avho  are  to  stay !" 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  reasons  in  favor  of  the  removal 
of  the  Indians  in  the  southwestern  parts  of  the  United  States, 
we  do  not  think  they  are  applicable  to  the  case  of  those  on 
whose  account  we  now  appear.  It  is  true  that  the  Indian  na- 
tions who  formerly  resided  on  the  Atlantic  frontier  have  been 
either  whollv  exterminated  or  driven  back.  At  the  touch  of 
the  **  white  borderers,"  they  have  been  consumed.  In  an  un- 
civilized state  the  read  man  receives  the  vices  and  diseases  of 
the  white,  but  is  not  prepared  to  practice  his  virtues  or  to  use 
his  remedies.  These  vices  and  diseases  have  made  more  havoc 
among  the  aborigines  of  our  country  than  the  tomahawk  or  the 
sword.  But  the  country  surrounding  the  Seneca  Indians  is 
now  civilized  and  densely  populated.  Instead  of  perpetually 
meeting  the  rude  squatter,  who,  with  his  rifle  and  his  rum  bot- 
tle, neither  fears  God  or  regards  man,  the  New  York  Indian 
has  only  to  step  over  the  geographical  line  which  marks  the 
boundary  of  his  reservation,  and  he  finds  himself  in  the  midst 
of  an  intelligent  and  virtuous  population.  He  sees  fertile  fields, 
in  a  high  state  of  improvement,  rendered  profitable  by  a  judi- 
cious system  of  agriculture  ;  he  sees  beautiful  specimens  of 
building,  securing  the  comforts  and  elegancies  of  life,  and  com- 
manding his  admiration  by  their  adaptation  to  our  wants  or  oui 
tastes.     Instead  of  examples  whose  only  tendency  is  to  corrupt 


24 

and  debase  him,  he  sees  on  every  side  models  of  industry,  so- 
briety, and  order. 

The  greatest  obstacle  to  the  civilization  of  the  Indian  is  his 
aversion  to  labor.  Civilization  is  a  system  of  restraints.  At 
every  turn  it  demands  a  sacrifice  of  personal  ease.  In  his  na- 
tural state,  the  pleasures  of  the  Indian  feed  him.  He  procures 
his  fond  by  fishing  and  hunting.  In  the  state  to  which  we  in- 
vite him,  *'by  the  sweat  of  his  face  he  must  eat  bread."  To 
arrive  at  this  state,  both  nature  and  habit  must  be  overcome. 
It  is  not,  therefore,  a  subject  of  wonder  that  he  slowly  and  re- 
luctantly yields  to  the  necessity  of  a  change.  No  nation,  per- 
haps, ever  became  civilized  but  by  the  force  of  circumstances. 
But  the  situation  and  circumstances  of  the  JVciy  York  Indians 
have  brought  them  to  this  necessity ;  either  civilization  or  ex- 
termination  must  overtake  them,  and  they  generally  know  it, 
They  have  perceived  it  for  some  years  past,  and  partly  from 
this  conviction,  and  partly  by  the  force  of  example,  they  have 
within  a  short  period,  made  more  rapid  advances  in  the  arts 
and  improvements  of  civilized  life  than  at  any  former  time. 

M.  B.  Pierce,  a  young  Indian  of  the  Seneca  nation,  who, 
through  the  bounty  of  our  Government,  has  received  a  liberal 
i  education,  writing  on  this  subject,  makes  the  following  state- 

ment in  relation  to  his  tribe:  "In  business  there  is  much 
greater  diligence  and  industry ;  their  teams,  in  respect  to  oxen, 
horses,  wagons,  sleighs,  &c.,  are  more  in  number  and  better  in 
quality  than  formerly ;  and,  in  these  respects  there  is  a  con- 
stant improvement.  The  men  labor  more  comparatively,  and 
the  women  less,  except  in  their  appropriate  sphere.  With  re- 
gard to  buildings,  they  are  much  more  conveniently  planned, 
and  of  the  best  materials,  both  dwelling-houses  and  barns,  and 
new  ones  constantly  going  up.  Those  who  have  not  lands  of 
their  own  under  cultivation  are  much  more  willins;  to  hire 
themselves  to  labor  for  others ;  this  shows  that  the  idea  that 
work  is  dishonorable,  is  done  away.  There  are  among  us  good 
mowers,  and  cradlers,  and  reapers ;  blacksmiths,  carpenters, 
shoemakers,  and  other  mechanics,  do  work  enough  for  their 


25 

brethren.     There   are  several  wagons  in  the  nation  that  are 
worth  more  than  ^100.     Manure  is  sometimes  applied,  which, 
but  five  years  ago,  was  almost  universally  wasted.     With  re- 
gard to  their  mode  of  living,  tables,  chairs,  bedsteads,  and  cook- 
ing apparatus,  have  been  purchased  of  the  whites,  or  manufac- 
tured in  imitation  of  them ;  and  they  are  used  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent  in  every  family.     The  habit  of  taking  regular  meals 
is  gaining   ground,  and  the   provision   luxurious.     They  are 
more  attentive  and  judicious  in  the  care  of  the  sick,  and  rely 
less  on  notions  and  quackery.     They  employ  skilful  physicians, 
and  use  the  medicines  with  less  prejudice  and   a  great  deal 
more  confidence.     We  have  other  evidences  of  improvement, 
in  the  increase  of  industry,  and  a  consequent  advance  in  dress, 
furniture,  and  all  the  comforts   and   conveniences  of  civilized 
life.     The  fields  of  the  Indians  have  never  been  kept  in  such 
good  order,  nor  managed  with  so  much  skill,   as  within  a  few 
years.     At  public   meetings  and  other  large  assemblies  they 
appear  comfortably  and   decently,   and   some  of  them   richly 
clad.     There  are  many  of  them  who  keep  themselves  well  in- 
formed of  what  is  going  on  in  the  country.     Newspapers  have 
been  taken  from  Washington,  Philadelphia,  New  York,   and 
other  cities  in  the  United  States,  and  two  or  three  copies  of  the 
'  Genessee  Farmer.'     Some  of  the  young  men  have  libraries, 
and  in  them  a  choice  selection   of  books.     All  these  improve- 
ments are  advancing  at  a  rapid  rate." 

From  other  sources  of  information,  and  from  our  own  know- 
ledge, we  believe  this  picture  is  not  over  colored.  The  in- 
creasing intelligence  of  the  Indians  is  qualifying  them  better 
to  appreciate  the  advantage  of  their  present  location ;  and  the 
consequence  is,  that  they  are  more  and  more  averse  to  a  change 
of  residence.  The  events  of  the  two  preceding  years  have 
caused  them  to  reflect,  to  investigate,  to  reason ;  and  a  num- 
ber of  those  who,  when  the  subject  of  emigration  was  first  pro- 
posed, and  large  rewards  offered  for  their  compliance  with  the 
measure,  were  willinor  to   sio:n  the  treaty,  have  since  become 

the  most  decided  opponents  of  the  scheme. 
4 


26 

By  a  census  taken  during  the  present  summer,  and  con- 
firmed by  affidavits,  it  appears  that  not  one-fifleenth  part  of  the 
Seneca  nation  are  willing  to  go  the  West ;  and  this  we  believe 
to  be  the  result  of  their  own  deliberate  reflection,  as  strongly, 
and  in  a  very  affecting  manner,  expressed  by  one  of  their 
chiefs  in  the  presence  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  at  the  late 
council  held  at  Cattaraugus.  Out  of  a  population  of  2,449  on 
the  four  reservations,  there  are  only  138  who  are  willing  to  re- 
move, including  the  children  of  parents  in  favor  of  emigrating. 

But  it  has  been  maintained  by  the  pre-emption  company 
and  their  advocates,  that  those  willing  to  emigrate  have  been 
deterred  from  signing  the  treaty  through  "fear,"  and  the  United 
States  commissioner,  R.  H.  Gillet,  very  plainly  insinuates  the 
same  idea,  where  he  says  "  those  who,  through  fear  or  other 
cause,  should  prefer  to  sign  the  treaty  at  his  room,  might  do 
so."  Now,  supposing  that  a  majority  of  the  chiefs  had  signed 
the  treaty,  and  that  such  a  majority  implied  a  majority  of  the 
people,  we  see  no  cause  why  there  should  not  be  as  much  fear 
on  the  one  part  as  on  the  other ;  for  they  are  all  Indians,  and 
one  party  is  no  more  entitled  to  the  character  of  savages  than 
the  other.  If,  however,  there  is  a  consciousness  of  perfidy  and 
wrong  on  the  side  of  the  minority^  if  it  has  yielded  to  improper 
influences,  and,  from  selfish  motives,  has  done  what  it  could  to 
drive  from  their  native  homes  four  teen-fifteenths  of  their  breth- 
ren and  sisters,  it  is  very  reasonable  to  suppose  such  minority 
would  be  haunted  with  those  fears,  w^hich  are  usual  concomi- 
tants of  guilt.  If  the  emigrating  party  is  as  anxious  to  go  as 
the  other  is  to  stay,  why  should  there  not  be  as  much  fear  in 
one  case  as  the  other?  We  consider  the  allegation  of  "  fear" 
a  pretext  or  an  excuse  for  a  private  execution  of  the  treaty,  in 
violation  of  the  established  usages  of  th6  nation. 

By  the  report  of  the  Senate's  committee,  it  appears  to  have 
been  their  opinion,  that,  in  order  to  a  fair  expression  of  the 
national  will,  the  signatures  of  the  chiefs  ought  to  have  been 
affixed  to  the  treaty  in  "open  council."  "If,"  say  they, 
"these  foTiy-fojLT  had   signed    the    amended    treaty  in    open 


27 

council,  the  committee  would  consider  that  the  requirements  of 
the  Senate  had  been  complied  with,  at  least  with  the  appear- 
ance of  having  a  majority."  But,  we  have  seen  that  only  six- 
tezn  names,  out  of  eighly-one,  were  thus  obtained.  On  this 
principle,  it  was  not  then,  nor  is  it  now,  a  valid  treaty. 

We  have  seen  by  the  census  of  the  four  reservations,  that 
less  than  one-fifteenth,  part  of  the  nation  are  in  favor  of  removal ; 
a  conclusive  evidence  that  the  sis^natures  reported  by  the  Uni- 
ted States  commissioner  do  not  fairly  express  the  will  of  the 
people;  and  this  fact  carries  with  it  a  strong  presumptive  evi- 
dence that  most  of  the  chiefs  who  signed  the  treaty  were  in- 
fluenced by  other  motives  than  the  will  of  their  constituents. 

Under  these  circumstances,  if  there  be  real  cause  of  fear., 
that  fear  should  have  reference  to  the  period  when  they  met 
their  brethren  beyond  the  Mississippi,  suffering  under  a  con- 
sciousness of  wrong,  and  irritated  by  the  difficulties  and  priva- 
tions incident  to  a  new  settlement  in  an  uncultivated  wilder- 
ness. 

But  if  the  emigrating  party  really  believe  it  would  be  for 
their  interests,  and  for  the  interests  of  their  children,  to  return 
to  the  habits  and  manners  of  savage  life,  their  more  liberal  op- 
ponents would  not  interpose  to  thwart  their  views.  In  the 
late  council  at  Cattaraugus,  the  non-emigrating  party,  in  the 
presence  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  announced  their  willingness 
that  "  those  who  are  w'lling  to  go,  may  go,  and  take  their  share 
of  the  common  property."  "We  will  not,"  said  their  official 
organ,  "  refuse  them  their  share  of  whatever  belongs  to  them." 
An  offer  so  liberal  and  so  just,  we  think,  ought  to  satisfy  them. 

Under  former  administrations,  it  was  a  favorite  policy  of  the 
government  to  promote  the  civilization  of  the  Indians,  and 
large  sums  were  appropriated  for  that  purpose.  But  many  of 
our  fellow-citizens  now  entertain  the  sentiment,  and  we  have 
no  doubt  sincerely,  that  the  Indian  is  an  untameable  savage, 
made  for  the  wilderness,  and  only  capable  of  subsistmg  in  a 
state  of  nature !  We  think  the  sentiment  is  erroneous — that 
circumstances   only,   make  the  difference  between  them  and 


28 

the  white  men.  Our  ancestors,  in  the  island  of  Great  Britain, 
when  the  polished  Romans  invaded  their  territory,  were  as 
savage  as  the  natives  of  our  own  country  at  the  planting  of  the 
first  colony  in  Virginia ;  they  painted  their  bodies  and  clothed 
themselves  in  skins.  Centuries  rolled  away ;  the  example  of 
a  civilized  state,  with  all  its  advantages,  was  before  them,  and 
yet  they  remained  nearly  as  barbarous  as  when  first  visited  by 
a  Caesar!  Six  hundred  years  after  the  invasion,  they  were  far 
less  improved  in  the  arts  of  civilized  life,  than  are  our  Indians, 
after  the  lapse  of  one-fourth  part  of  that  time.  In  the  Seneca 
nation,  the  march  of  improvement  in  science  and  morals,  as 
well  as  in  their  physical  condtion,is,  perhaps  vvithout  a  parallel 
in  the  history  of  our  species!  It  is  true  much  is  yet  to  be  ac- 
complished— but  the  lights  of  experience  shine  on  our  path — 
the  facilities  of  intercourse  are  astonishingly  multiplied — and 
nothing,  we  think,  is  wanting  to  the  consummation  of  our 
wishes,  for  the  complete  civilization  of  the  New  York  Indians, 
but  a  faithful  applicaton  of  the  means  which  a  benevolent  Pro- 
vidence has  put  into  our  hands,  or  placed  within  our  reach. 

We  had  fondly  hoped  that  this  small  remnant  of  the  once 
powerful  nations,  which,  but  a  little  more  than  a  century  ago, 
peopled  our  forests,  and  covered  the  face  of  our  vast  country, 
might  have  been  permitted  to  enjoy  in  peace  the  small  remains 
of  their  inheritance  !  We  had  hoped,  that  by  the  fostering 
care,  and  kind  protection  of  our  government,  they  might  have 
been  preserved  to  future  generations,  a  fair  specimen  of  our 
aboriginal  race — a  noble  monument  of  the  justice  and  magna- 
nimity of  our  nation ;  and,  we  trust,  that  these  hopes  may  not 
yet  be  wholly  frustrated.  In  a  national  point  of  view,  their 
removal  can  be  no  prominent  object — they  are  few  in  number, 
and  occupy  little  room  ! 

In  the  peaceable  possession  of  their  lands  and  improvements, 
these  Indians  are  entitled  to  the  protection  we  ask  for  them, 
not  only  by  the  requisitions  of  mercy  and  justice,  but  by  the 
express  assurance  of  the  government,  whose  faith  has  been 
solemnly  and  publicly  pledged   for  that  purpose.     By  an  in- 


29 

strament  of  writing,  under  the  hand  of  General  Henry  Dear- 
born, and  seal  of  the  War  Office,  dated  March  17th,  1802,  now- 
more  than  thirty-seven  years  ago,  it  is  among  other  things,  de- 
clared "  that  all  lands  claimed  by  and  secured  to  the  Seneca 
and  Onondaga  Indians,  by  treaty,  convention,  deed  of  convey- 
ance, or  Reservation,  lying  and  being  within  the  said  United 
States,  shall  be  and  remain  the  property  of  the  said  Seneca  and 
Onondaga  Indians,  for  ever ;  unless  they  shall  voluntarily  re 
linquish  or  dispose  of  the  same.  And  all  persons,  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  are  hereby  strictly  forbidden  to  disturb  the 
said  Indian  nations,  in  the  quiet  possession  of  said  lands." 

By  those  who  desire  the  removal  of  the  Indians,  without  re- 
gard to  the  means,  it  is  contended,  that  a  signature  of  the 
treaty,  by  a  majority  of  the  chiefs,  ought  to  sanction  its  ratifi- 
cation. If  such  majority  had  signed  it  in  the  free  and  unbiased 
exercise  of  their  judgment,  we  should  not  have  appeared  on 
the  present  occasion.  We  have  no  desire,  either  to  prevent 
the  Indians  from  pursuing  their  happiness  in  their  own  way,  or 
to  oppose  the  pre-emption  company,  in  the  pursuit  of  their  in- 
terests, by  just  and  honorable  means.  But,  when  questions, 
deeply  affecting  the  rights  of  others,  are  to  be  decided  by  ma- 
jorities, it  ought  to  be  presumed,  that  a  mnjority  of  votes,  on 
such  questions,  fairly  represents  the  will  of  a  majority  of  the 
people  interested.  To  support  a  contrary  opinion,  would  be 
to  argue,  that  the  will  of  a  minority  should  govern  in  the  case, 
and  thus  to  remove  the  very  foundation  of  all  republican  institu- 
tions. We  are  confident  that  our  present  rulers  are  not  pre- 
pared, either  in  theory  or  practice,  to  support  such  a  doctrine ; 
and  all  w^e  ask,  in  the  present  case,  is,  that  the  "  amended 
treaty"  may  not  be  ratified,  until,  after  a  fair  and  impartial  in- 
vestigation, it  shall  appear  that  a  majority  of  the  Indians  inter- 
ested in  the  treaty,  are  in  favor  of  its  stipulations. 

We  thus  express  ourselves  because  of  the  high  confidence 
we  feel  in  the  integrity  of  our  government ;  a  confidence  sup- 
ported and  confirmed  by  its  past  action  in  reference  to  this 
treaty.     A  committee  of  the  Senate,  in  the  report  which  has 


-■^' 


30 

been  before  alluded  to,  has  nobly  sustained  the  sentiments  of 
the  memorialists.  In  that  report  they  say,  "  If  these  forty-four 
had  signed  the  amended  treaty  in  open  council,  the  committee 
would  consider  that  the  requirements  of  the  Senate  had  been 
complied  with,  at  least  with  the  appearance  of  having  a  major- 
ity ;  but  it  is  in  vain  to  contend  that  the  signatures  of  the  last 
ten,  which  were  obtained  on  the  second  mission,  or  of  the  three 
who  have  sent  on  their  assent  lately,  is  such  a  signing  as  was 
contemplated  by  the  resolution  of  the  Senate.  It  is  compe- 
tent, however,  for  the  Senate  to  waive  the  usual  and  customary 
forms  in  this  instance,  and  consider  the  signatures  of  these  last 
thirteen  as  good  as  though  they  had  been  obtained  in  open 
council.  But  the  committee  cannot  recommend  the  adoption 
of  such  a  practice  in  making  treaties,  for  divers  good  reasons, 
which  must  be  obvious  to  the  Senate.  Among  those  reasons 
against  the  secret  individual  negotiations,  is  the  distrust  created, 
that  the  chiefs,  by  so  acting,  are  doing  what  a  majority  of  their 
people  do  not  approve,  or  are  improperly  acted  upon  by  bribery 
or  threats  and  unfair  Influences.^' 

To  contemplate  a  forcible  removal  of  the  Indians,  and  the 
heartrending  scenes  that  must  accompany  such  removal,  is 
shocking  to  every  sentiment  of  justice  and  humanity.  To  see 
a  great  and  powerful  nation,  lending  its  aid  to  oppress  the  weak 
and  helpless,  must  tend  to  loosen  the  attachment  of  the  people 
to  their  government,  and  would  do  more  to  weaken  the  bond 
of  our  national  union  than  all  the  enemies  of  a  just  people 
could  ever  effect.  The  United  States,  by  the  peculiar  nature 
of  their  institutions,  stand  conspicuously  before  the  world.  On 
the  purity  of  our  national  administration,  in  a  great  measure, 
depends,  not  only  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  our  own  citi- 
zens, but,  perhaps,  the  success  of  one  of  the  most  momentous 
and  interesting  experiments  which  has  ever  been  exhibited  to  the 
view  of  mankind.  The  great  question,  whether  in  a  collective 
capacity  men  are  capable  of  self-government,  is  yet  to  be  final- 
ly decided.  The  happy  decision  of  that  question  depends 
upon  the  virtue   of  the  nation.     May  the   great  Ruler  of  the 


31 

Universe,  in  his  boundless  mercy,  so  direct  the  delegated  au- 
thorities of  our  country,  that  in  all  their  decisions  involving 
the  rights  of  others,  they  may  be  governed  by  the  principles  of 
truth  and  justice ;  for  it  is  a  maxim  sanctioned  by  Divine  au- 
thority, and  in  perfect  accordance  with  universal  experience 
that  '*  Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation,  but  sin  is  a  reproach  to 
any  people."  And  may  the  President,  when  he  retires  from 
the  arduous  duties  of  government,  to  the  quiet  enjoyments  of 
private  life,  experience  the  highest  reward  of  an  upright  states- 
man, "the  inward  consciousness  that  in  all  his  movements  he 
has  honestly  endeavored,  by  the  worthiest  means,  to  promote 
the  best  ends — the  present  and  future  welfare  of  his  country 
and  of  mankind." 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  said  committees, 

GRIFFITH  M.  COOPER,  )  ^^^ 

WILLIAM  S.  BURLING,  5  ^entssee. 

VALENTINE  HICKS, 

AMOS  WILLETS, 

ABRAHAM  BELL,  "^JVew  York. 

ROBERT  HICKS, 

SAMUEL  J,  UNDERHILL, 

BENJAMIN  FERRIS, 

JOHN  WILSON  MOORE,  .  m  /  i  i  j,- 

JOHN  JACKSON,  yPhdadelj^hia. 

RICHARD  PRICE,  J 

PHILIP  E.  THOMAS,  ) 

PHINEAS  JANNEY,  }  Baltimore. 

WILLIAM  E.  BARTLETT.        ) 

Eleventh  month  2,  1839." 

On  hearing  the  memorial,  and  the  explanatory  statements  of 
the  committee,  the  President  assured  Friends  that  he  disap- 
proved oi  2il\  fraudulent  means  to  procure  the  emigration  of  the 
Indians,  and  never  ivould  sanction  the  treaty  then  before  the 
Senate,  provided  that  satisfactory  evidence  were  laid  before  him, 
proving  that  such  means  had  been  used  on  the  present  occasion. 
Cheered  by  this  assurance,  and  confident  that  additional  and 


\ 


] 


32 

ample  evidence  of  fraud  of  the  most  nefarious  character,  could 
be  procured  by  a  mission  to  the  Seneca  nation,  one  of  the 
committee  immediately  left  Washington  and  proceeded  to  Buf- 
falo for  the  purpose. 

The  object  of  this  mission  having  been  fully  attained,  and 
much  additional  evidence  of  an  official  character  procured,  go- 
ing to  prove  that  the  amended  treaty  had  neither  been  fairly 
obtained  nor  executed  in  conformity  with  the  directions  of  the 
Senate,  it  was  deemed  proper  again  to  address  the  President^ 
and  lay  before  him  this  testimony.  A  delegation  from  the 
joint  committees  of  the  four  Yearly  meetings  accordingly  re- 
paired to  Washington  with  the  following  memorial. 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  committees  of  the  four  Yearly  meetings  of  Friends  of  Ge- 
nessee,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore,  w^ho,  by 
their  delegates,  waited  on  the  President  on  the  1st  of  Ele- 
venth month  last,  in  behalf  of  the  New  York  Indians, 

Respectfully  represent: 

That  in  pursuance  of  their  object,  as  expressed  in  their  let- 
ter to  the  President,  dated  Eleventh  month  4,  1839,  they  have 
taken  such  measures  to  ascertain  facts,  in  relation  to  the  exe- 
cution of  the  amended  treaty  with  the  Seneca  nation,  as  may 
assist  the  President  to  form  a  just  conclusion  on  the  subject. 
In  our  interview  with  the  President,  we  understood  him  dis- 
tinctly to  say,  that  if  he  should  be  fully  assured  that  a  majority 
of  their  chiefs  had  not  fairly  signed  that  treaty,  or  authorized 
others  to  sign  it  on  their  behalf,  he  should  not  think  himself  at 
liberty  to  ratify  it.  The  committees  of  those  Yearly  meetings 
were  already  convinced,  from  a  great  mass  of  testimony  of  un- 
questionable character,  that  such  majority  had  never  so  signed 
that  instrument ;  but  in  order  more  fully  to  substantiate  that 
opinion,  they  resolved,  by  a  special  mission,  to  investigate  the 
subject  in  a  more  formal  manner.  To  be  prepared  for  such  an 
investigation,  they  addressed  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 


33 

requesting  him  to  furnish  them  with  the  names  of  all  the  chiefs 
attached  to  the  treaty  as  amended.  With  this  request  he  kind- 
ly complied,  and  by  letter  dated  "  Office  of  Indian  Affairs, 
Washington,  November  22,  1839,"  a  list  of  those  names  was 
furnished  the  committees.  Thus  prepared,  our  friend  Griffith 
M.  Cooper,  on  our  behalf,  proceeded  to  the  city  of  Buffalo, 
and  opened  to  a  few  of  the  chiefs  the  nature  of  his  errand. 
Wishing  to  forward  the  object  of  his  mission,  they  called  a 
council,  and  invited  him  to  be  present.  A  full  examination 
of  all  matters  connected  with  that  object  was  then  made ;  and 
after  a  laborious  investigation,  the  following  results  were  ob- 
tained, which  we  now  lay  before  the  President. 

It  appears,  by  reference  to  the  amended  treaty,  that  forty- 
one  names  are  attached  to  it,  as  chiefs  of  the  Seneca  nation. 
Of  these,  there  are  six  who  were  not  then,  nor  are  they  now 
chiefs.  Their  names  are  as  follows,  to  wit :  Keuben  Pierce, 
Jim  Jonas,  John  Gordon,  Charles  Graybeard,  John  Hutchin- 
son, and  Charles  F.  Pierce. 

The  first  two  of  these  have  never  held  any  higher  station 
than  "  runners."  For  evidence  of  this  fact,  we  refer  the  Pre- 
sident to  the  affidavit  of  Seneca  White,  dated  December  11, 
1839. 

That  the  aforesaid  six  Indians  never  were  considered  chiefs 
of  the  Seneca  nation,  and  therefore  had  no  authority  or  right, 
according  to  the  laws  or  customs  of  the  confederation,  to  sign 
any  treaty  whatever,  is  shown  by  the  affidavit  of  sixty-seven 
chiefs,  sworn  before  H.  A.  Salisbury,  commissioner  of  deeds 
sor  Erie  county,  dated  December  11,  1839. 

John  Gordon,  one  of  the  said  six  Indians,  swears  that  he 
never  was  a  chief.     See   affidavit  dated  December  11,  1839. 

There  are  six  other  names  of  chiefs  attached  to  the  treaty, 
who  solemnly  swear  that  they  never  signed  it,  nor  in  any  way 
authorized  others  to  sign  it  on  their  behalf,  to  wit :  John  Tall- 
chief,  John  General,  Major  Jack  Berry,  Samuel  Wilson,  John 
Bark,  and  Sky  Carrier.     See  documents   now  in  the  Office  of 

Indian  Affairs  at  Washington. 
5 


34 

From  the  forty-one  names  attached  to  the  amended  treaty, 
deduct  the  aforesaid  twelve,  and  there  remain  but  twenty-nine 
names. 
The  emigration  party  say,  there  are  in  the  Seneca  nation — 

lawful  chiefs         -         -         -         -         -         -         -         81 

Of  these,  six,  who  have  signed  the   amended  treaty,   are 

denied  to  be  such  by  the  non-emigration  party,  upon 

srrounds  before  stated.    ------  6 

Leaving  undisputed  chiefs         -----         75 

The  non-emigration  party  say,   there  are  in  the  nation — 
lawful  chiefs         -         -         -         -         -         -         -         91 

Of  these,  sixteen  are  denied  to  be  such  by  their  opponents  16 

Leaving,  as  before,  undisputed  chiefs  -         -         -         75 

Of  these  undisputed  chiefs,  only  twenty-nine  have  signed 
the  amended  treaty ;  leaving  of  undisputed  chiefs  a- 
gainst  it       --------        46 

Showing  a  majority  against  the  treaty  of     -         -         -         17 
If  all  are  admitted  to  be  chiefs  who  are  claimed  by  both 

parties,  they  amount  to  -----         97 

Of  these,  forty-one  appear  as  sanctioning  the  treaty       -         41 
Leaving  a  majority  against  the  treaty  of      -         -         -         16 
But  of  the  forty-one  whose  names  appear  upon  the  treaty, 
there  are  six  who   swear  they  never,  in  any  way,  sanc- 
tioned the  treaty — deducting  these,  the  majority  would 

be 21 

If  all  are  admitted  to  be  chiefs  who  are  claimed  by  both  par- 
ties, the  whole  number,  as  above  shown,  is  ninety-seven  ;  and 
a  majority  of  this  number  is  forty -nine.  As  only  forty-one 
chiefs  signed  the  treaty,  it  is  clear  that  a  majority  did  not 
sign  it. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  we  reject  the  disputed  chiefs,  we  find 
the  number  remaining  to  be  seventy- five.     In  the  41,  who  are 


35 

alledged  to  have  signed  the  treaty,  are  the  names  of  12  dis- 
puted, chiefs ;  leaving  29  who  are  not  disputed,  and  who,  of 
course,  are  not  a  majority  of  75. 

From  this  statement,  it  appears  that,  whether  we  try  the 
issue  upon  the  admission  of  all  the  chiefs  claimed  by  both  par- 
ties— and  if  they  be  admitted  in  one  case,  they  must,  in  equity, 
be  so  in  both — or  whether  w^e  try  it  by  admitting  those  only 
who  are  acknowledged  by  each  party ;  in  neither  case  will  it 
be  found  that  a  majority  of  the  chiefs  have  signed  the  treaty. 

In  our  former  communication  we  stated  to  the  President  that, 
out  of  a  population  of  2,505  Indians,  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, belonging  to  the  Seneca  nation,  only  146  were  professed- 
ly willing  to  remove.  This  fact  shows  that  some  powerful 
motive  has  been  in  operation  upon  many  of  the  chiefs,  in- 
ducing them  to  violate  the  will  of  the  people,  which,  in  duty, 
they  were  bound  to  consult.  To  that  motive  we  distinctly 
pointed  in  our  former  memorial. 

That  the  emigration  party  do  not  wash  to  remove,  appears 
from  the  fact,  that  they  have,  in  many  cases,  (probably  in  all,) 
by  contracts  with  the  pre-emption  claimants,  secured  a  home 
for  life  on  the  lands  they  now  occupy. 

In  the  council  held  by  Commissioner  R.  H.  Gillet,  in  the 
year  1838,  although  it  was  protracted  for  about  four  weeks, 
only  fourteen  acknowledged  chiefs  openly  signed  the  amended 
treaty.  All  the  other  signatures  were  either  obtained  private- 
ly, or  attached  to  it  without  the  consent  of  the  chiefs,  whose 
signatures  they  purport  to  be,  or  they  w^ere  the  signatures  of 
persons  who  were  not  chiefs. 

We  hope  and  trust  that  when  the  President  shall  have  con- 
sidered these  facts,  and  others  exhibited  in  the  various  docu- 
ments presented  on  this  subject,  he  will  see  sufficient  cause  to 
withhold  his  assent  to  a  treaty,  which,  if  carried  into  into  effect 
under  present  circumstances,  can  hardly  fail  to  exasperate  a 
great  majority  of  the  nation,  and  may  finally  lead  them  to  war 
and  bloodshed  among  themselves. 


36 

Signed  on  behalf  of  said  committees' 

GRIFFITH  M.  COOPER,    Genessee. 

ABRM.  BELL,  ") 

DOBEL  BAKER,  •      !  ^      y  ^^ 

SAMUEL  SMITH,  \^^  ^ 

THOMAS  CARPENTER,   J 

WM.  WHARTON,  \ 

GEO.  M.  JUSTICE, 

JOAN  n.  BUNTING,  \ Philadelphia. 

JOSEPH  WARNER,  | 

BENJ.  FERRIS,  J 

P.  E.  THOMAS,  ^ 

WM.  E.  BARTLETT,  '  ^  ,,.   _^ 

JACOB  LAFETRA.  \Balhmo^e. 

PHINEAS  JANNEY.  J 

Washington,  First  month  29,  1840. 

When  the  delegation  arrived  at  the  Seat  of  Government  they 
were  informed  by  the  Secretary  of  War  that  the  President  had 
returned  the  treaty  once  more  .to  the  Senate.  Friends  had 
now  a  cheering  hope  that,  with  the  great  mass  of  evidence  of 
unquesiionable  character,  in  their  possession,  they  might  induce 
the  Senate  to  reject  an  instrument,  purporting  to  be  a  treaty, 
which  that  evidence  proved  to  be  deeply  tainted  with  fraud. 

By  the  Message  of  the  President  transmitting  to  the  Senate 
that  document,  it  appeared,  that  in  his  judgment  the  most  ob- 
jectionable circumstances  urged  by  Friends  to  invalidate 
it  were  well  founded.  The  message  was  dated  January  13th, 
1840.  In  it  the  President  expressly  declared,  that  "  the  reso- 
lution of  the  Senate  of  the  11th  of  June,  1838,  requiring  the 
assent  of  each  tribe  of  Indians,  to  the  amended  treaty,  to  be 
o-iven  in  council,  had  not  been  complied  with,  as  it  respects  the 
Seneca  tribe.''  Referring  to  the  council  held  by  the  Secretary 
of  AVar  at  Cattaraugus  in  the  Eighth  month,  1S39,  he  de- 
clared that  "no  advance  towards  obtaining  the  assent  of  the 
Seneca  tribe  to  the  amended  treaty,  in  council  was  made;  nor 
can  the  assent  of  a  majority  of  them  in  council,  be  now  ob- 
tained,''    Alluding  to  the  charge  of  bribery,  he  said,   "that 


37 

improper  means  have  been  employed,  to  obtain  the  assent  of 
the  Seneca  chiefs,  there  is  every  reason  to  beheve  :  and  I  have 
not  been  able  to  satisfy  myself,  that  I  can,  consistently  with 
the  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  the  2d  of  March,  1839,  cause 
the  treaty  to  be  carried  into  effect,  in  respect  to  the  Seneca 
tribe." 

When  the  delegation  found  that  the  treaty  had  been  returned 
to  the  Senate,  with  such  a  sentence  of  condemnation  ao-ainst 
it,  as  all  upright  men  might  reasonably  suppose,  would  sink  it 
into  oblivion,  they  could  not  but  hope  that  such  a  body  as  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  would  immediately  reject  it.  Three 
of  the  most  prominent  and  important  points  urged  by  Friends 
against  that  spurious  document,  had  been  sustained  by  the  Pre- 
sident. The  conditions  on  which  alone  it  could  be  ratified  "  not 
complied  with," — a  majority  of  the  chiefs  not  sanctioning  it, 
and  that  majority  "not  to  be  obtained"  by  the  Secretary  of 
War,  purposely  delegated  to  wait  on  them  for  that  purpose  ; — 
and  finally  "improper  means,"  that  is,  in  plain  language  bri- 
bery, employed  to  obtain  the  assent  of  the  Indians  to  its  rati 
fication. 

Such  was  the  situation  of  the  concern  w^hen  the  delegation 
arrived  at  Washington  on  the  28th  of  the  First  month,  1840. 
After  presenting  the  foregoing  memorial  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  finding  the  treaty,  once  more  before  the 
Senate,  it  was  thought  proper,  to  present  to  that  body  a  memo- 
rial, which  had  been  previously  prepared  for  the  occasion ;  it 
is  as  follows : 

To  the  Senate  of  the  United  States, 

The  memorial  of  the  Joint  Committees  of  the  four  Yearly 
meetings  of  Friends  of  Genessee,  New  York,  Philadelphia, 
and  Baltimore. 

Respectfully  represents : 

That,  ever  since  the  settlement  of  Pennsylvania  by  William 
Penn,  the  Society  of  Friends  have  held  the  most  friendly  in- 
tercouse  with  the  natives  of  our  country.     A  friendship,  arising 


38 

from  a  reciprocation  of  benefits,  has  been  maintained  between 
them,  without  any  interruption.  It  is  now  more  than  forty 
years  since  that  society  formed  establishments  on  some  of  the 
reservations  in  the  western  part  of  New  York.  These  estab- 
lishments, having  for  their  object  the  instruction  of  the  Indians, 
in  agriculture  and  the  arts,  with  a  view  to  their  civilization, 
have  been  maintained  at  great  expense  of  money,  time,  and 
labor,  which  have  had  the  effect  to  secure  their  confidence, 
and  to  cause  them,  when  under  difficulty  or  embarrassment,  to 
apply  to  Friends  for  counsel  and  assistance.  It  is  under  these 
circumstances,  and  at  their  request,  that  we  now  appear  before 
you. 

A  treaty  made  with  the  Indian  tribes  in  that  region,  in  the 
year  1838,  was  submitted  to  the  Senate.  With  a  view  lo  pro- 
tect and  secure  these  Indians  from  improper  influence,  that 
body  amended  the  treaty  by  making  several  important  addi- 
tions to  it,  and  then  passed  the  following  resolution,  to  wit : 

'*  Resolved,  That  this  treaty  shall  have  no  force  or  effect 
whatsoever,  as  it  relates  to  any  of  said  tribes,  nations,  or  bands 
of  New  York  Indians ;  nor  shall  it  be  understood  that  the  Se- 
nate have  assented  to  any  of  the  contracts  connected  with  it, 
until  the  same,  with  the  amendments  herein  proposed,  is  sub- 
mitted and  fully  explained  by  a  commissioner  of  the  United 
States,  to  each  of  said  tribes  or  bands,  separately  assembled  in 
council,  and  they  have  given  their  jree  and  voluntary  assent 
thereto.  And  if  one  or  more  ot  said  tribes  or  bands,  when 
consulted  as  aforesaid,  shall  freely  assent  to  said  treaty  as 
amended,  and  to  their  contract  as  connected  therewith,  it  shall 
be  binding  and  obligatory,"  &c. 

To  your  memorialists,  it  appears  the  Senate  intended  that  the 
execution  of  the  said  amended  treaty,  as  well  as  its  explanation, 
should  be  done  in  open  council.  This  course  indeed  was  ne- 
cessary, in  order  to  fulfil  the  honorable  intentions  of  the  Se- 
nate, and,  we  may  add,  in  order  to  make  the  treaty  valid,  ac- 
cording to  the  laws  and  customs  of  one  of  the  contracting  par- 
ties.    For,  with  these  Indians,  it  is  an  established  rule,  that  the 


39 

chiefs,  out  of  council,  have  no  more  power  to  make  contractg 
by  treaty,  than  any  other  individual  of  the  nation,  unless  when 
that  power  has  been  conferred  upon  them  by  the  voice  of  the 
people  in  council  assembled. 

If,  by  directing  that  the  treaty,  as  amended,  should  be  "fully 
explained"  in  council,  the  Senate  intended  to  prevent  fraud 
and  imposition,  that  intention  would  be  wholly  defeated  by 
permitting  d.  private  execution  of  it ;  for  we  think  it  must  be  ap- 
parent that  3.  private  execution  of  the  treaty  opens  a  wider  door 
for  corruption  and  fraud  than  ?l  private  explanation  of  it.  The 
truth  of  this  conclusion,  we  believe,  will  be  manifest  to  the 
Senate,  by  adverting  to  facts,  proved  by  the  various  documents 
accompanying  the  treaty,  as  transmitted  by  the  Executive. 

In  the  resolution  of  the  Senate,  before  quoted,  there  is  no 
permission  given  for  3.  private  execution  of  the  amended  treaty, 
nor  is  there  any  allusion  to  such  a  mode  of  expressing  the  as- 
sent of  the  Indians  to  that  instrument.  It  would  seem  that  the 
commissioner  at  first  understood  the  resolution  as  we  do ;  for 
after  making  the  necessary  explanations  of  the  amendments  in 
open  council,  and  protracting  its  sessions  for  about  four  weeks, 
he  only  obtained  sixteen  signatures,  two  of  which  were  of  per- 
sons who  were  not  chiefs.  It  was  not  until  after  he  had  failed 
in  this  mode  to  obtain  a  majority,  that  he  resorted  to  the  other, 
of  which  the  Indians  so  much  complain.  By  what  authority 
he  proceeded  to  obtain  signatures  in  private,  your  memorialists 
have  never  been  informed. 

To  us,  it  appears  that  the  language  of  the  resolution  admits 
of  but  one  construction,  and  contdi\ns  positive  testimony  in  favor 
of  our  position,  that  the  Senate  intended  that  the  treaty  should  be 
executed  openly  in  council.  The  Indians  were  to  be  assembled 
in  council;  it  was  to  be  fully  explained  to  them  in  council ; 
they  were  to  be  "  consulted''  in  council ;  and  freely  to  assent 
to  its  provisions  in  council.  It  seems  to  us  that  all  these  trans- 
actions wJere  intended  to  be  simultaneous,  and  all  done  in  open 
council.  Had  the  commissioner  acted  upon  these  views,  great 
difficulties  and  much  trouble  would  have  been  prevented. 


40 

This  will  abundantly  appear  by  reference  to  the  voluminous 
"documents  on  this  subject,  already  transmitted  to  the  Senate, 
or  jet  remaining  in  the  Indian  Department;  documents  which, 
we  think,  will  very  clearly  show  the  dangerous  consequences 
of  permitting  solemn  treaties  to  be  executed  in  a  private  and 
clandestine  manner. 

The  commissioner,  finding  the  open  mode  of  obtaining  signa- 
tures to  fail,  proceeded  to  take  them  privately.  And  now  a 
scene  opened,  perhaps  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  negotia- 
tion. The  means  used  to  betray  an  ignorant  and  confiding 
people  will  be  laid  before  the  Senate;  means  which,  if  success- 
ful, might  subject  our  Government  to  the  suspicion  of  conniving 
at  fraud,  and  thus  tarnish  the  character  of  our  country. 

In  the  prosecution  of  this  private  course,  fifteen  more  names 
were  added  to  the  treaty ;  now  making  thirty-one.  Thus  sign- 
ed, it  was  transmitted  to  the  Executive,  who,  not  satisfied  that 
the  requisitions  of  the  Senate  had  been  complied  with,  refused 
to  sanction  it ;  upon  which,  the  commissioner,  returning  to 
the  Seneca  nation,  privately  obtained  ten  more  names,  by 
which  the  number  was  augmented  to  "forty-one."  In  this 
state  it  was  laid  before  the  Senate.  Its  Committee  on  Indian 
Affairs,  after  a  laborious  investigation,  and  hearing  testimony 
on  behalf  of  both  parties,  made  a  report,  in  which  they  say  : 
"  This  number  has  been  increased  by  three  additional  names, 
which  have  been  forwarded  since  the  treaty  has  been  under 
consideration,  which  increases  the  number  of  those  who  have 
assented,  to  forty-four.  If  these  '  forty-four'  had  signed  the 
amended  treaty  in  open  council,  the  committee  would  consider 
that  the  requirements  of  the  Senate  had  been  complied  with, 
at  least  with  the  appearance  of  having  a  majority.  But  it  is 
vain  to  contend  that  the  si2:natures  of  the  last  ten,  which  were 
obtained  on  the  second  mission,  or  of  the  three  who  have  sent 
on  their  assent  lately,  is  such  a  signing  as  Avas  contemplated  by 
the  resolution  of  the  Senate." 

With  these  views  your  memorialists  entirely  coincide.  Since 
that  report,  no  action  has  been  had  in   relation   to  the   treaty, 


41 

rendering  this  conclusion  inapplicable  to  the  case.  The  treaty- 
remains  as  it  then  was,  with  ''with  forty-one"  signatures.  If 
the  conclusion  of  the  committee  was  then  correct,  and  applica- 
ble to  the  circumstances  stated,,  it  is  equally  so  now ;  and  its 
execution  is  still  not  mch  "as  was  contemplated  by  the  resolu- 
tion of  the  Senate." 

But  since  that  able  and  lucid  report  was  made  to  the  Senate, 
other  facts  and  circumstances,  then  unknown  to  that  commit- 
tee, have  been  brought  to  light,  demonstrating  the  truth  of  its 
statements  and  the  correctness  of  its  reasoning.  With  these 
we  shall  not  now  trouble  the  Senate,  but  refer  it,  for  proof  ot 
our  assertions,  to  the  documents  before  mentioned. 

The  natives  on  the  four  reservations  yet  in  the  tenure  of  the 
Seneca  Indians,  are  a  remnant  of  the  powerful    confederation 
of  the  Six  Nations,  which,  since  the  landing  of  our  forefathers? 
have  swayed  the  sceptre  of  authority  over  the  northern  part  of 
this  continent.     They  are  nearly  the  last  of  the  aboriginal  race 
who  are  left  east  of  the  Mississippi,  to  tell  the  sad  tale  of  Euro- 
pean treachery, — of  the  vices  and  the  butcheries  which  have 
reduced  them  to  weakness  and  poverty.     The  lands  they  now 
occupy  are  a  small  residue  of  their  once  vast  territories.     These 
lands,  by  the  authority  of  our  Government,  have  been  solemnly 
guarantied  to  them,  to  be  held  in  peace,  and  without  molesta- 
tion, for  ever,  or  until  they  shall  freely  and  voluntarily  relin- 
quish the  same.    That  time  has  not  yet  come.    Out  of  2,505  In- 
dians remaining  on  these  reservations,  only  146  are  consenting  to 
remove.    Their  progress  in  civilization  and  the  arts  of  life,  made 
within  a  few  years,  have  been  unparalleled  in  any  former  time. 
The  Society  of  Friends  have  long  had,  and  still  have,  a  settle- 
ment among  them,  and  agents  to  instruct  them  in  letters,  in 
agriculture,  and  in  mechanical  employments.     These  attempts 
have  been  successful  beyond  our  expectations,  although  much 
impeded  by  the  un  settlement,  arising  from  frequent  efforts,  on 
the  part  of  the  whites,  to  obtain  possession   of  their  lands. 
Were  such  interference  entirely  to  cease,  we  have  no  doubt 

heir  improvement  would  be  greatly  accelerated,  and  the  time 
6 


42 

would  be  hastened  when  we  might  point  to  at  least  one  suc- 
cessful experiment  for  the  complete  civilization  of  our  native 
red  men.  Protection  from  such  interfence  is  all  we  ask  from 
the  Government ;  and  from  the  honorable  course  it  has  hitherto 
pursued  in  relation  to  the  late  treaty,  we  hope  and  trust  that 
our  present  application  will  not  be  in  vain. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  said  committees, 

GRIFFITH  M.  COOPER,    Genessee, 
ABRAHAM  BELL,  "j 

DOBEL  BAKER,  \ju^      y    r 

SAMUEL  SMITH.  f      "^  ^^"^^^ 

THOMAS  CARPENTER,  J 

JOHN  H.  BUNTING,         ^ 

BENJAMIN  FERRIS,  VphUadelvhia 

JOSEPH  WARNER,  Vi'tiiiadelpfiia. 

WILLIAM  WHARTON,     J 

P.  E.  THOMAS,  \ 
JACOB  LAFETRA, 

ISAAC  TYSON,  I  „  ... 

MOSES   SHEPPARD,  >J^ainmore. 

JOHN  GILLINGHAM,         ( 
WM.  E.  BARTLETT,         J 

Washington,  First  month  29,  1840." 

It  was  with  the  utmost  surprise  and  grief,  the  committees 
afterwards  learned,  that  on  the  25th  of  the  Third  month,  1840, 
by  a  vote  of  nineteen  for  the  treaty,  together  with  the  casting 
vote  of  Richard  M.  Johnson,  then  its  speaker,  against  nineteen, 
who  voted  against  the  it,  the  Senate  had  sanctioned  that  docu- 
ment as  the  true  and  approved  contract  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Seneca  nation,  by  which,  as  it  was  alledged  the 
Indians  had  fairly  alineated  all  their  lands  in  the  State  of  New 
York  to  the  Ogden  Land  Company,  and  had  agreed  to  expa- 
triate themselves  from  the  country  of  their  forefathers,  into  a 
dreary  inhospitable  and  sickly  wilderness ;  with  no  other  pros- 
pect than  a  miserable  existence,  or  the  more  desirable  alterna- 
tive, a  speedy  death ! 

As  soon  as  the  committees  were  informed  of  this  decision  of 


43 

the  Senate,  they  sent  a  deputation  again  to  wait  on  the  Presi- 
dent, to  remonstrate  against  its  ratification  by  him,  as  one 
branch  of  the  treaty — making  power,  and  to  remind  him  of  the 
assurance  he  had  given  us,  that  "  if  a  majority  of  the  Indian 
chiefs,  had  not  fairly  signed  that  treaty,  or  authorized  others  to 
sign  it  on  their  behalf,  he  should  not  think  himself  at  liberty  to 
ratify  it."  That  deputation,  in  fulfiling  the  object  of  their  ap- 
pointment, again  laid  before  the  President  incontestable  evidence 
of  its  fraudulent  character,  and  urged  him  to  withhold  from  it  his 
sanction.  In  reply  the  President  stated,  that  having  returned 
the  treaty  with  his  objections  to  the  Senate,  and  that  body  on 
further  investigation,  having  ratified  it,  he  had  felt  himself  un- 
der an  obligation  to  confirm  it,  and  that  he  had  accordingly 
signed  it,  and  given  orders  that  it  should  be  proclaimed  as  the 
law  of  the  land. 

The  delegation  were  under  the  circumstances  but  little  pre- 
pared to  expect  such  a  result,  and  before  they  withdrew,  re- 
marked, that  "with  the  abundant  evidence  furnished,  exposing 
the  very  improper  means  by  which  the  treaty  had  been  pro- 
cured, they  could  not  but  lament  this  issue.  They  however 
had  the  consolation  to  know,  that  Friends  had  done  all  in  their 
power  to  prevent  it  •  and  concluded  by  observing,  that  the 
whole  transaction  was  a  very  objectionable  one,  and  that  his- 
tory, the  final  arbiter  of  the  actions  of  men  would  not  fail  to 
award  to  every  individual,  the  verdict  justly  due  to  the  part  he 
may  have  taken  in  its  consummation.". 

Notwithstandins:  this  decision  of  the  Government,  and  consi- 
dering  the  meagre  majority  by  which  the  treaty  had  been  car- 
ried through  the  Senate,  the  Joint  Committee  determined  not 
to  abandon  the  cause  of  those  oppressed  and  injured  Indians. 
It  was  known  to  Friends  that  the  circumstances  of  the  Seneca 
nation,  and  the  base  means  used  to  defraud  them  of  their  lands, 
were  not  perfectly  understood,  by  the  citizens  of  New  York, 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Indian  reservations.  Even  the  society  we 
represented,  we  knew  was  very  partially  acquainted  with  the 
subject.     The  interest,  of  the  Indians,  and  the  character  of  our 


44 

country,  were  suffering,   because  facts   intimately   connected 
with  both,  were  wholly  unknown  to  the  public  at  large.     The 
only  party  understanding  these  facts,  w^as  deeply  interested  in 
keeping  them  secret.     Whatever  of  injury  and  wrong  may  be 
found  in  the  rulers  of  the  land,  such  evils  are  keenly  felt  and 
reprobated  by  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  and  where  there  is 
no  interest  in   concealment,  the  benevolent  feelings  will  find 
means  of  expression.     Under  these  impressions  the  Joint  Com- 
mittees in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1840  determined  to  pub- 
lish a  statement  of  the  case  of  the  Seneca  Indians,  for  the  in- 
formation  of  our   own  members — and,   with   the  hope,   that 
through  them,  at  least,  such  information  might  be  more  gene- 
rally diffused.     Accordingly  the  29th  of  the   Fifth  month,  in 
that  year,  at  a  meeting  held  in  New  York,  a  work  was  pro- 
duced entitled  ''The  case  of  the  Seneca  Indians  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  illustrated  by  facts,"  which  being  approved,  it  was 
ordered  that  a  suitable  number  should  be  printed.     The  good 
effect  of  this  w^ork  was  soon  felt  by  the  committee,  in  the. more 
general  interest  and  warm  sympathy  manifested  for  the  objects 
of  our  care,  both  within  the  pale  of  our  ow^n  society,  and  by  the 
public  at  large.     The  "facts"  disclosed, — the  shameful  frauds, 
the  "  wrongs  and  outrages"  committed  against  a  poor  suffering 
defenceless  people,  being  made  known,  the  feelings  of  our  fel- 
low-citizens were  roused  against  the  base  conduct  of  their  per- 
secutors; and  these  feelings  were  made  manifest ,  by 

increased  public  interest,  and  the  expression  of  that  interest 
through  the  numerous  channels  opened  by  the  press,  as  well 
as  through  other  means  of  communication. 

At  this  same  meeting  information  was  received,  that  a  dele- 
gation from  the  Seneca  nation,  desired  an  interview  with 
Friends,  to  meet  them  at  Farmington,  during  the  week  of  Ge- 
nessee  Yearly  meeting.  In  compliance  with  this  desire,  six- 
teen of  our  number  w^ere  nominated  to  confer  with  them. 

On  the  17th  of  the  Sixth  month,  five  chiefs  and  two  inter- 
preters met  the  committee  at. Farmington,  and  after  making 
several  communications  to  Friends,  the  meeting  adjourned  to 


45 

assemble  again  the  next  day.  On  the  18th  the  parties  again  met. 
The  late  action  of  the  Government  had  thrown  the  whole  Indian 
nation  into  the  utmost  distress.  Friends  felt  deeply  their  afflic- 
tions, but  could  then  see  nothing  to  advise  them,  except  to  re- 
main peaceably  at  home,  to  till  their  land  as  usual  and  take  care 
of  their  families.  On  the  19th  the  head  or  chief  Sachem  of  the 
Seneca  nation  and  several  other  Indians  arrived.  We  had  a 
meeting  on  that  day  with  seven  chiefs  and  two  interpreters. 
They  presented  us  with  the  following  address  from  the  Tone- 
wanda  tribe. 

To  the  jnembers  of  the    Committees  on  Indian  concerns  for  ihe 
Religious  Society  of  Friends  about  to  meet  at  Farmington. 

^Brothers, 

We  whose  names  are  signed  to  this  paper,  belong  to  that 
portion  of  the  Seneca  nation  of  Indians  that  reside  at  Tone- 
wanda. 

By  the  help  of  the  Great  Spirit,  we  have  met  in  open  coun- 
cil this  23d  day  of  Fifth  month,  1840,  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
liberating on  the  right  course  for  us  to  pursue  under  the  recent 
act  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  relating  to  our 
lands. 

Brothers.  We  are  in  trouble.  We  have  been  told  that 
our  land  was  sold.  We  again  solicit  your  advice  and  your 
sympathy. 

Under  the  accumulating  difficulties  and  trials  that  now  seem 
to  surround  us,  we  feel  more  than  ever  our  need  of  the  help  of 
the  Great  and  Good  Spirit  to  guide  us  aright.  May  his  coun- 
sel ever  guide  and  direct  us  all  in  true  wisdom.  It  is  known 
to  you,  brothers,  that  at  different  times  our  nation  has  been  in- 
duced to  cede  by  stipulated  treaty  to  the  United  States,  various 
tracts  of  our  territory,  until  it  is  now  so  small  that  it  only  affords 
us  a  home. 

We  hoped  by  those  liberal  concessions  to  secure  the  quiet 
and  unmolested  occupancy  of  this  small  residue.  But  we 
baye  abundant  reason  to  fear  that  we  have  been  mistaken. 


46 

The  Agent  and  Surveyor  of  a  company  of  land  speculators, 
known  as  the  "  Ogden  Company,"  have  been  on  here,  to  lay 
out  our  land,  for  the  purpose  of  selling  it  off.  We  have  pro- 
tested against  their  proceeding,  and  have  forbid  them  until 
after  a  general  council  to  be  held  at  Buffalo  in  four  days. 

Brothers.  What  we  want  is  that  you  should  intercede  with 
the  United  States  Government  in  our  behalf.  We  want  you 
to  know,  and  we  want  the  government  and  people  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  to  know,  in  the  first  place,  that  we  have  never  signed 
a  treaty  to  give  up  our  lands. 

That  of  the  six  hundred  Indians  who  compose  this  tribe,  one 
Indian  only  has  signed  it,  and  he  resides  at  Buffalo. 

That  this  treaty,  which  we  are  told  has  been  ratified  by  Pre- 
sident Van  Buren,  we  know  and  are  sure  is  a  fraudulent  one. 

That  Ransom  H.  Gillet,  the  government's  agent,  violated  the 
good  faith  of  the  government  and  a  law  respecting  the  ratifica- 
tion of  treaties,  by  applying  to  Indians  at  their  houses,  some  of 
them  upon  their  sick  beds ;  also  on  the  highways  and  at  taverns, 
and  offering  them  money  if  they  would  sign  said  treaty. 

That  in  the  general  council  convened  at  Buffalo,  for  the  ex- 
press purj^ose  of  considering  this  treaty,  sixteen  chiefs  only 
were  in  favor  of  signing  it,  and  sixty-four  were  decidedly  op- 
posed to  it. 

That  Jimmy  Johnson,  the  head  chief  of  the  Seneca  nation, 
never  signed  that  treaty,  and  the  putting  ol  his  name  to  the 
treaty,  whether  by  the  agent  or  some  one  else,  was  a  forgery. 

Brothers.  We  want  the  President  to  know  that  we  are  for 
peace,  and  that  we  only  ask  the  possession  of  our  rights. 

True  we  are  small  in  number,  but  we  only  ask  for  justice. 
We  want  to  be  allowed  to  live  on  our  land  in  peace.  We  love 
Tonewanda.  We  have  no  wish  to  leave  it.  It  is  the  residue 
of  the  land  of  our  fathers.  Here  we  wish  to  lay  our  bones 
in  peace. 

Will  our  brothers  inform  us  whether  General  Dearborn  in 
signing  this  treaty,  intended  that  all  the  lands  belonging  to  this 
nation  were  included  in  it,  or  only  the  lands  belonging  to  those 


47 

that  signed  it ;  we  are  willing  that  the  emigration  parly  should 
sell  their  land,  but  we  are  not  willing  that  they  should  sell  ours. 

Will  our  brothers  also  inform  us  whether  the  Governor  of 
Massachusetts  has  ever  signed  this  treaty. 

Brothers.  We  are  determed  to  keep  our  lands  till  our  friends 
send  us  information  and  advice,  which  we  want  immediately. 
We  want  the  surveyors  to  be  kept  from  our  land. 

Brothers.  In  conclusion  we  thank  you  for  your  friendly  as- 
sistance heretofore,  and  earnestly  solicit  your  further  advice 
and  assistance. 

Signed. 

JOHN  LUKE,  formerly  head  chief,  his  x  mark. 

JOHN  BLACKSMITH,  chief,  his  x  mark. 
JIMMY  JOHNSON,  present  head  chief,  his  x  mark. 

BLUE  SKY,  chief,  his  x  mark. 

BLACK  CHIEF,  chief,  his  x  mark. 

JOHN  SKY,  chief,  his  x  mark. 

JESSE  TIFFINY,  chief,  his  x  mark. 

JOHN  BIGFIRE,   chief,  his  x  mark. 

WM.  WASHINGTON,  chief,  his  x  mark. 

LEWIS  POODRY,  chief,  his  x  mark. 

SAMUEL  PARKER,  chief,  his  x  mark. 

WILLIAM  JAMES,  chief,  his  x  mark. 

ISAAC  SHANKS,  chief,  his  x  mark. 

DANIEL  SPRING,  chief,  his  x  mark. 

JESSE  SPRING,  chief,  his  x  mark. 

LEWIS  KENEDY,  chief,  his  x  mark. 

THOMAS  JEMISON,  >  interpreters 
WILLIAM  CLINT,      3  inierpreicxs. 

ASA  CARRINGTON,         )  wunp.cp. 
STEPHEN  AT  WATER,     5  ^'vimesses. 

The  foregoing  appeal  to  the  committee,  being  dehberately 
considered,  the  following  address  to  the  Seneca  nation  was 
agreed  on,  and  was  read  and  interpreted  to  the  chiefs  then 
present. 


48 

To  the  Seneca  J^aiion  of  Indians  in  the  State  of  New  York. 
Brothers, 

At  our  meeting  the  day  before  yesterday  with  the  delegates 
of  the  Seneca  nation,  they  informed  us  that  they  wished  to 
have  our  advice  in  relation  to  their  present  distressing  circum- 
stances. 

Brothers.  The  friends  you  see  before  you,  are  a  delegation 
from  the  four  Yearly  Meetings  of  Genesee,  New  York,  Philadel- 
phia,*and  Baltimore.  Many  of  us  have  travelled  several  hundred 
miles  to  come  and  see  you,  and  to  talk  with  you,  and  to  confer 
together,  with  prayer,  that  the  Great  Spirit  might  give  us  wis- 
dom, and  light,  that  we  might  find  out,  and  see  plainly,  the 
right  path  for  us  and  you  to  walk  in. 

Brothers.  We  have  considered  your  request  that  we  would 
give  you  council  and  advice.  We  have  looked  all  around  us 
for  a  right  way,  and  and  a  safe  path  for  the  Indians  to  walk  in, 
and  we  now  give  you  our  advice.  You  say  that  the  Seneca 
nation  has  not  sold  its  lands.  You  assure  us  that  the  treaty 
lately  ratified  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  was  not  exe- 
cuted according  to  the  conditions  solemly  adopted  and  pres- 
cribed by  that  body.  You  say  that  it  was  not  signed  by  a 
majority  of  your  lawful  chiefs.  You  have  told  us  that  many 
who  did  sign  it,  were  bribed  by  large  sums  of  money,  to  induce 
them  thus  to  act,  contrary  to  the  will  of  your  people  ,  you  also 
tell  us  that  some  of  the  names  signed  to  the  treaty  are  forge- 
ries ;  and  that  under  these  circumstances  you  are  not  willing  to 
leave  your  lands,  which  the  Great  Spirit  gave  you,  and  which 
the  Government  of  the  United  States,  by  treaties  with  your 
people,  have  assured  to  you  in  the  most  solemn  manner. 

Brothers.  We  have  understood  that  notwithstanding  all  that 
you  say,  and  which  we  beheve  to  be  true,  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States  has  ratified  the  treaty,  and  that  the  President  has 
proclaimed  it  as  the  law  of  the  land. 

Brothers.  We  cannot  advise  you  to  resist  by  force,  even  an 
unjust  decree.     To   do  so  would  be   wrong.     That  path  is  a 


49 

bloody  path,  it  is  strewed  with  the  dead  and  the  dying.     The 
Great  Spirit  leads  none  of  his  children  in  that  path. 

Brothers,  listen.  The  Great  Spirit  loves  quiet,  peaceful  chil- 
dren, and  when  they  walk  in  his  path,  he  is  always  near  them 
— he  hears  all  their  crying — he  sees  all  their  afflctions  and 
distress,  and  in  his  own  time,  which  is  the  best  time,  he  sends 
them  relief  in  his  own  way,  which  is  the  best  way. 

Brothers.  We  think  it  best  for  you,  at  this  time,  to  remain 
peaceably  and  quietly  on  your  land,  keep  as  much  as  possible  at 
your  homes,  till  your  ground,  take  care  of  your  stock,  provide  a 

for  your  families — let  your  children  be  taught  useful  learning — 
As  much  asposible  live  peaceably  with  all  men. 

Brothers.  The  Society  of  Friends  have  felt  much  sympathy 
with  your  people, — ^we  have  heard  with  great  pain  of  the 
wrongs  and  injuries  which  have  been  heaped  upon  you. 
We  have  seen  your  tears,  and  we  have  wept  for  you.  We 
have  remembered  the  kindness  of  your  fathers  to  our  fathers 
when  you  were  a  strong  people,  and  we  were  few  in  number, 
and  very  weak :  and  we  now  wish  to  do  all  we  can  to  help  you. 
We  have  at  this  time  concluded  to  address  the  Governor  of 
Massachusetts,  the  Governor  of  New  York,  and  the  House  of 
Representatives  of  the  United  States,  on  your  behalf. 

Brothers.  We  now  bid  you  farewell :  and  in  doing  so,  we 
wish  to  inform  you  that,  we  will  not  forget  our  red  bretheren, 
but  intend,  with  the  help  of  the  Great  Spirit,  to  continue  our 
efforts  to  aid  them,  and  to  promote  their  present  and  future 
welfare 

Signed  by  the  delegates  from  the  committees  of  the  four 

Yearly  Meetings  aforesaid, 

DOBEL  BAKER,  GRIFFITH  M.  COOPER, 

WILLIAM  WHARTON,  WM.  S.  BURLING, 

BENJ.  FERRIS,  ABM.  BELL, 

GEORGE  M.  JUSTICE.         NATHANIEL  STARBUCK, 
JOSEPH  WARNER,  RACHEL  HICKS,  Jr.  t 

PHILIP  E.  THOMAS,  MARIA  FARRINGTON, 

JNO.  GILLINGHAM.  DOROTHY  GOLDEN, 

DEBORAH  WHARTON, 
Farminglon,  JV.   Y.,  Sixth  month  19,  1840, 
7 


50 

Having  in  the  foregoing  communication  expressed  to  the 
Indians  our  intention  of  addressing  the  Governors  of  New  York 
and  Massachusetts,  and  memoriaUzing  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives of  the  United  States,  on  their  behalf,  and  sub-commit- 
tees having  been  appointed  for  that  purpose,  the  following  do- 
cuments were  prepared,  which  they  were  requested  to  present^ 
in  comformi^y  with  the  conclusion  of  the  joint  committees. 

Memoranda  for  the  use  of  the  Committee  appointed  to  wait  on 
the  Governor  of  the  State  ofJSTew  York. 

The  committee  to  wait  on  the  Governor  of  New  York,  are 
desired  to  represent  to  him  the  distressed  situation  of  the  In- 
dians, and  earnestly  to  invoke  his  interposition  for  their  relief, 
as  far  as  he  can  constitutionally  exercise  his  authority.  They 
will  also  represent  to  him  that,  as  under  the  treaty,  the  Indians 
have  five  years  allowed  them  to  depart,  they  certainly  should, 
during  that  time  remain  unmolested ;  yet  already  they  are  har- 
rassed  by  injunctions  interrupting  their  business,  and  disturbed 
by  surveyors  running  lines  over  their  lands,  and  dividing  it  off 
into  lots.  Amongst  other  instances  of  vexatious  annoyance, 
one  of  their  most  respectable  chiefs  has  been  interrupted  from 
completing  an  improvement  he  was  making  on  his  own  house. 

These  proceedings  naturally  keep  them  in  a  state  of  aggra- 
vated excitement,  and  may  lead  to  violence.  It  is  supposed 
that  as  the  State  of  Massachusetts  did,  in  the  agreement  made 
relating  to  these  lands,  now  occupied  by  the  Indians,  acknow- 
ledge that  the  absolute  right  of  sovereignty  and  jurisdiction 
over  them,  was  in  the  State  of  New  York,  its  executive  au- 
thority has  the  legal  power  to  extend  to  the  Indians,  the  same 
protection  that  is  accorded  to  the  inhabitants  of  any  other  part 
of  the  State. 

^  And  the  Governor's  attention  is  requested  to  the  deed  of 
sale — that  he  maj""  consider  whether  the  Tuscaroras  can  convey 
their  lands,  purchased  with  their  own  money,  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  Gouernment  of  New  York  ;   and  whether  a  fraudu- 


51 

lent  deed,  obtained  of  the  Senecas,  may  not  be  set  aside,  the 
fraud  being  proved. 

To  the  Governor  and  Council  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  the 
Memorial  of  the  Subscribers,  on  behalf  of  the  Joint  Commit- 
tees of  the  Four  Yearly  Meetings  of  Friends  of  Genessee, 
JVew  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore,  respectfully  repre- 
sent that, 

When  the  agreement  or  compromise  was  concluded,  in  the 
year  1786,  between  the  States  of  New  York  and  Massachu- 
setts, in  relation  to  their  respective  claims  to  certain  lands  in 
the  former  State,  the  worthy  Representatives  of  the  latter,  most 
benevolently  provided,  that  no  purchase  of  those  lands,  or  any 
part  of  them,  from  the  Indians,  should  be  valid  "unless  the 
same  shall  be  made  in  the  presence  of,  and  approved  by,  a 
Superintendent,  to  be  appointed  for  such  purpose,  by  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Massachusetts,  having  no  interests  in  such  pur- 
chase, and  be  confirmed  by  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachu- 
setts." 

Thus,  at  the  time,  and  by  the  instrument  of  agreement,  in 
which  Massachusetts  parted  with  her  right  of  sovereignty  over 
the  Indian  lands,  she  expressly  reserved  to  herself  a  right  to 
guard  and  protect  the  poor  unlettered  natives,  from  the  arts 
and  the  frauds  of  those  who  might  be  disposed  to  wrong  them. 
This  right  to  guard  and  protect  the  weak  and  defenceless  abori- 
gines, she  has,  with  a  laudable  zeal,  constantly  claimed  and 
most  benevolently  exercised  from  that  time  to  the  present. 

When  the  deeds  of  sale  from  the  Seneca  and  Tuscarora  In- 
dians, to  Ogden  Sc  Fellows,  bearing  date  January  15th,  1838, 
were  sanctioned  by  the  Governor  and  Council  of  Massachu- 
setts, it  was  not  known  to  them  that  these  contracts  were  ob- 
tained by  unfair  means,  or,  it  is  fair  to  conclude,  that  they 
would  never  have  sanctioned  them. 

The  Indians  charge  the  other  parties  to  these  contracts  with 
bribery,  menace,  forgery  and  falsehood,  and  so  strong  and  am- 
ple have  been  the  proofs  adduced  to  support  these  charges^ 


52 

that  the  late  Committee  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  in 
their  report  to  that  body  in  the  early  part  of  the  present  year, 
unanimously  recommended  the  rejection  of  the  treaty, — (Pro- 
ceedings of  Senate,  March  5th,  1840.) 

The  President  of  the  United  States,  in  his  Message  to  the 
Senate,  dated  January  13,  1840,  returning  again  the  treaty  to 
that  body,  declares  that  "  the  provision  of  the  resolution  of  the 
Senate  of  the  11th  of  June,  1838,  requiring  the  assent  of  each 
of  the  said  tribes  of  Indians  to  the  amended  treaty,  to  be  given 
in  council,  and  which  was  also  made  a  condition,  precedent  to 
the  recommendation  to  me  of  the  Senate,  of  the  2d  of  March, 
1839,  to  carry  the  same  into  effect,  has  not  therefore  been 
complied  with."  The  President,  in  the  same  Message,  also 
declares,  that  in  a  council  held  with  the  Indians  last  summer 
by  the  Secretary  of  War,  "  no  advance  towards  obtaining  the 
assent  of  the  Seneca  tribe,  to  the  amended  treaty,  was  made, 
nor  can  the  assent  of  a  majority  of  them  in  council,  be  now 
obtained."  In  allusion  to  the  charge  of  bribery,  the  President 
says  "  That  improper  means  have  been  employed  (to  obtain 
the  assent  of  the  Seneca  chiefs  to  the  amended  treaty)  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  ;  and  I  have  not  been  able  to  satisfy 
myself  that  I  can,  consistently  with  the  resolution  of  the  Se- 
nate, of  the  2d  of  March,  1S39,  cause  the  treaty  to  be  carried 
into  effect,  in  respect  to  the  Seneca  tribe." 

Had  all  the  circumstances  of  fraud  and  unfairness  been  de- 
veloped to  the  Governor  and  Council  of  Massachusetts  which 
have  since  come  to  light,  it  is  presumed  that  as  the  lawful 
guardians  of  those  Indians,  the  deeds  conveying  their  lands 
w^ould  not  have  been  sanctioned. 

That  the  assent  to  the  amended  treaty  was  to  have  been 
given  in  council,  is  clear  from  the  plain  words  of  the  Senate's 
resolution  of  June  1 1th,  1838,  and  in  the  deed  which  was 
sanctioned  as  aforesaid,  it  is  declared,  that  the  treaty  was  held 
in  council,  and  that  then  the  chiefs  and  head  men  on  behalf 
of  the  Seneca  nation  did  agree  to  sell.  Whereas  it  hae 
since   been   discovered,    that    the   deed    was    not    agreed    to 


53 

in  council,  and  it  has  been  ascertained  by  two  several  cen- 
suses, that  not  one-fifteenth  part  of  the  nation  are  in  favor  of 
the  sale.  The  truth  is,  that  neither  the  treaty  nor  the  deeds 
have  been  legally  or  faijly  obtained. 

The  treaty  of  January  15,  1838,  and  the  deeds  before  alluded 
to,  bearing  the  same  date,  were  originally  connected  together, 
and  formed  together  one  great  plan  for  removing  the  Indians 
out  of  the  State  of  New  York.  The  treaty  provided  a  home  for 
them  beyond  the  Mississippi :  the  deeds  provided  for  the  re- 
linquishment of  their  lands  to  the  Ogden  Land  Company. 
Thus  connected,  Massachusetts  ratified  the  deeds.  But  after- 
wards the  treaty  and  the  contracts  of  sale  were  submitted  to  the 
Senate  ;  and  that  body  found  the  treaty  so  defective  that  they 
refused  to  ratify  it,  and  afterwards  so  thoroughly  changed  it, 
that  in  the  language  of  the  distinguished  Senator,  then  Chair- 
man of  the  Indian  committee,  "  they  "made  nearly  a  new  treaty 
of  it." 

The  Senate  then  adopted  a  resolution  declaring,  that  the 
treaty,  as  amended,  should  have  no  force  or  effect.  Nor  should 
it  be  understood  that  the  Senate  had  consented  to  any  of  the 
contracts  connected  with  it,  "  meaning  the  deeds  which  had 
been  before  ratified  by  Massachusetts,"  until  the  same  had 
been  submitted  and  fully  and  fairly  explained  to  each  of  said 
tribes  or  bands  separately  assembled  in  council,  and  they  had 
given  their  free  and  voluntary  assent  thereto." 

In  pursuance  of  this  resolution,  the  treaty  was  afterwards 
submitted  to  the  Indians  in  council,  and  after  being  explained, 
only  16  out  of  81  chiefs  would  sign  it;  but  more  than  60  of 
them,  in  presence  of  the  Commissioner  from  Massachusetts, 
signed  a  formal  dissent  and  protest  against  it,- which  was  wit- 
nessed by  General  Dearborn. 

The  deeds  of  conveyance,  or  contracts  as  they  are  called, 
were  never  afterwards  laid  before  the  Indians,  as  directed  by 
the  Senate.  Nor  was  an  assent  to  them  as  connected  with  the 
amended  Treaty,  ever  obtained  by  the  Seneca  Nation :  so  that 


54 

the  sanction  of  Massachusetts  was  never  given  to  a  sale  of  the 
Indian  Lands  under  the  amended  treaty ;  which  we  think  is 
essential  to  the  validity  of  the  sale,  and  which  we  also  think 
Massachusetts,  as  the  undoubted  guardian  of  that  people  against 
all  fraudulent  transfers  of  their  land,  has  a  right  to  demand. 
Massachusetts  might  very  consistently  sanction  a  deed  of  sale 
connected  with  the  provisions  of  one  treaty,  which  she  might 
very  properly  reject  connected  with  a  Treaty  of  a  different 
character.  Governor  Everett,  in  this  view  of  the  subject,  de- 
clared, that  "  unless  the  amendments  made  to  the  treaty,  and 
which  had  changed  its  character,  were  assented  to  by  the  In- 
dians, he  should  consider  the  contracts  for  the  sale  of  their 
right  of  possession  null  and  void." 

We  therefore  respectfully  ask  of  the  Governor  and  Council 
of  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  that  they  would  take  the  subject 
into  their  solemn  consideration,  and  take  such  measures  in  the 
case,  as  they  in  their  wisdom  may  deem  expedient,  and  as  the 
guardians  of  the  Indians  as  aforesaid,  they  consider  their  duty 
demands. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  said  committees. 

BENJ.  FERRIS, 
ABM.  BELL, 
AMOS  WILLETS. 

JSTew  York,  Sixth  month  25th,  1840. 

The  Joint  Committees  seeing  no  prospect  of  arresting  the 
the  threatened  destruction  of  the  Seneca  nation,  by  any  inter- 
ference of  the  Executive  or  Senate  of  the  United  States,  had 
concluded  to  appeal  to  the  House  of_  Representatives,  and  re- 
quest that  bQ4y..to_withhoId  the  appropriations  necessary  to 
carry  into  effect  the  objectionable  treaty.  The  following  me- 
morial being  prepared,  was  presented  to  the  House.  It  re- 
ceived its  respectful  attention,  was  ordered  to  be  printed,  and 
in  conformity  with  our  petition  no  appropriation  was  made. 


55 

To  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States, 

The  memorial  of  the  several  committees  on  Indian  concerns, 
appointed  by  the  four  Yearly  Meetings  of  Friends  of  Genessee, 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore,  respectfully  represents, 

That  the  Society  of  Friends,  from  a  religious  concern  for  the 
welfare  of  the  Indians  in  the  State  of  New  York,  have  for 
many  years  been  engaged  in  promoting  their  civilization  and 
improvement.  Under  this  concern  we  have  had  establish- 
ments among  them,  and  agents  residing  on  some  of  their  Re- 
servations, to  instruct  them  in  agriculture,  and  other  arts  of  civi- 
lized life.     It  is  by  their  desire  we  now  solicit  your  attention. 

These  Reservations  being  the  small  remnants  of  their  once 
extensive  territory,  were  by  a  treaty,  made  between  the  Six 
Nations  and  our  Government,  in  the  year  1794,  solemnly  guar- 
antied to  them  and  their  descendants,  as  a  home  and  inherit- 
ance for  ever. 

As  the  white  population  of  our  country  extended  their  set- 
tlements towards  these  Reservations,  they  became  enhanced  in 
value,^  exciting  the  cupity  of  land  speculators,  and  urging 
them  by  various  means  to  remove  the  Indians,  in  order  to  pos- 
sess themselves  of  their  lands. 

Alarmed  and  agitated  by  these  movements,  the  Seneca  and 
Onondaga  Indians,  applied  to  our  governmentTor  its  interposi- 
tion and  protection,  in  fulfilment  of  the  guaranty  stipulated  in 
the  said  recited  treaty.  Faithful  to  its  contract,  and  prompt  in 
the  performance  of  it,  a  proclamation  was  immediately  issued 
by  the  authority  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  under 
the  hand  of  H.  Dearborn,  then  Secretary  of  War,  dated  March 
17th,  1802,  strictly  forbidding  all  persons,  citizens  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  to  disturb  the  said  Indians  in  the  quiet  possession  of 
their  lands.  And  declaring  that  "all  lands  claimed  by  and 
secured  to  the  said  Seneca  and  Onondaga  Indians,  by  treaty, 
convention,  deed  of  conveyance  or  reservation,  being  within 
the  limits  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  and  remain  the  pro- 
perty of  the  said  Seneca  and  Onondaga  Indians  for  ever,  unless 
they  shall  voluntarily  relinquish  or  dispose  of  the  same," 


56 

Within  the  last  ten  years  attempts  have  been  renewed,  and 
strenuous  exertions  made,  to  get  possession  of  these  lands.  For 
this  purpose  no  means  which  ingenuity  could  devise,  or  large 
pecuniary  resources  and  untiring  perseverance  accomplish, 
have  been  unessayed.  Under  the  operation  of  such  powerful 
agents,  a  treaty  has  been  procured,  and  executed,  under  cir-» 
cumstances  which  we  think  ought  to  claim  the  serious  atten- 
tion of  our  Representatives  in  Congress.  That  treaty,  we  most 
surely  believe,  is  tainted  wiih.  fraud;  and  if  carried  into  effect, 
will  be,  not  only  extremely  oppressive  to  the  poor  defenceless 
Indians,  but  injurious  to  the  charactar  of  our  country. 

The  President  of  the  United  States,  in  his  recent  message  to 
the  Senate,  dated  January  13th,  1840,  returning  this  same 
treaty  to  that  body,  says,  "  that  improper  means  have  been  em- 
ployed to  obtain  the  assent  of  the  Seneca  chiefs,  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe,  and  I  have  not  been  able  to  satisfy  myself, 
that  I  can,  consistently  with  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  the 
2d  of  March,  1839,  cause  the  treaty  to  be  carried  into  effect, 
in  respect  to  the  Seneca  tribe." 

The  committee  of  the  Senate  on  Indian  affairs,  after  a  long 
and  laborious  investigation  of  the  evidence  before  them,  and  of 
the  facts  and  circumstances  connected  with  the  treaty,  report- 
ed, it  is  understood,  unanimously,  against  its  ratification,  on  the 
ground  that  it  had  not  been  assented  to  by  the  said  Indians,  ac- 
cording to  the  terms  of  the  resolution  of  the  Wth  of  June,  1838. 

The  Senate  finally  ratified  it,  by  the  casting  vote  of  the 
Speaker,  in  a  thin  house,  only  nineteen  members  voting  in  its 
favor. 

Although  we  believe  there  is  ample  evidence  to  prove  the 
fraudulent  character  of  this  treaty,  and  that  its  execution  will 
be  grossly  unjust  and  oppressive  to  the  Seneca  nation,  yet  it  is 
far  from  our  intention  to  throw  the  least  censure  on  the  Senate, 
or  on  any  of  its  members.  We  are  aware  that  the  effects  of 
testimony  on  the  minds  of  men  of  unquestioned  integrity,  are 
very  different;   our   object  in  soliciting  the  attention  of  the 


57 

House  to  the  subject,  is  not  to  censure,  but  that  the  evidence  in 
the  case  may  be  examined  by  your  branch  of  the  Legislature, 

By  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  the  treaty-makino- 
power  is  vested  in  the  President  and  Senate.  By  the  same 
constitution,  no  money  can  be  drawn  from  the  treasury  but  by 
appropriations  made  by  law,  and  no  law  can  be  passed  without 
the  concurrence  of  both  branches  of  the  Legislature.  Thus, 
over  all  treaties  made  by  the  President  and  Senate,  the  House 
of  Representatives  has  a  control,  by  the  power  it  possesses  un- 
der the  Constitution  of  withholding  the  means  to  carry  such 
treaties  into  effect.  If,,  on  an  investigation  of  the  treaty  in 
question,  and  the  circumstances  attending  its  execution,  the 
House  shall  be  satisfied  that  it  was  not  fairly  ohtodned ;  if  it 
shall  believe  that  to  enforce  it  would  be  derogatory  to  the 
character  of  our  country,  as  an  honorable,  just,  and  upright  na- 
tion, it  may  refuse  to  grant  the  supplies  necessary  to  carry  it 
into  effect,  and  thus  save  the  country  from  the  odium  which 
must  attach  to  any  government  that  deliberately  does  wrong. 

There  is  one  feature  in  the  character  of  this  negociation  with 
the  New  York  Indians,  which  we  think  ought  to  claim  the 
particular  attention  of  your  body,  as  the  guardians  of  the  public 
treasure.  By  that  treaty  four  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  the 
public  money  and  one  million  eight  hundred  and  twenty-four 
thousand  acres  of  the  public  lands,  are  to  be  given  to  the  New 
York  Indians,  as  an  inducement  to  relinquish  their  possessions 
in  the  State  of  New  York,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Ogden  Land 
Company. 

To  your  memorialists  it  appears  that  under  this  treat^'"?  ^^^ 
Government  gives  away  a  vast  amount  of  property,  without 
any  equivalent !  It  may  well  be  asked,  What  advantage  can 
accrue  to  the  public  from  the  removal  of  the  New  York  In- 
dians ?  As  it  regards  the  people  of  the  United  States,  under 
whose  authority  the  treaty  is  said  to  be  made,  and  from  whose 
resources  the  means  to  carry  it  into  effect  are  to  be  drawn,  it 
may  safely  be  answered,  none.  In  a  national  point  of  view,  it 
is  a  matter  of  perfect  indifference  whether  the  New  York 
8 


58 

Indians  remove  or  do  not  remove  !  Why  then  should  our  re- 
presentatives appropriate  such  a  vast  amount  of  money  and  pro» 
perty  to  an  object,  in  which  the  community  has  no  interest  ? 

We  forbear  to  go  further  into  the  merits  of  the  case.  We 
would  not  unnecessarily  take  up  the  time  of  the  House.  We 
only  ask  for  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  subject,  and  that,  if 
after  such  investigation  it  should  appear  that  the  treaty  cannot 
be  carried  into  effect,  without  injustice  to  an  unoffending  peo- 
ple, and  an  improper  expenditure  of  the  public  treasure,  the 
House  may  refuse  to  make  any  appropriation  for  that  purpose. 
Signed  on  behalf  of  the  said  committees, 

BENJ.  FERRIS,   Clerk. 

Seventh  month  Sth,  1840. 

The  committee  appointed  to  prepare  a  memorial  to  the 
House  of  Representatives,  beUeved  it  right  at  the  same  time 
to  address  a  letter  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  which 
they  did,  a  copy  of  which  is  as  follows,  to  wit : 

To  Martin  Van  Buren,  President  of  the  United  States  : 

Under  the  circumstances  in  which  the  Society  of  Friends, 
who  for  many  years  past  had  extended  aid  to  the  Indian  na- 
tives residing  in  the  western  part  of  the  state  of  New  York, 
now  find  themselves  placed,  both  as  regards  their  existing  re- 
lations with  these  Indians  and  their  position  towards  the  general 
government,  the  undersigned,  on  behalf  of  the  committee  who 
heretofore  addressed  the  President  of  the  United  States,  deem 
it  respectful  to  the  President  fully  to  acquaint  him  with  the 
measures  taken  by  Friends  in  reference  to  these  people,  since 
the  amended  treaty  with  them  was  declared  by  the  Senate  to 
have  been  ratified,  and  has  been  proclaimed. 

On  the  annunciation  to  the  Indians  of  this  result,  consterna- 
tion and  gloom  were  every  where  spread  over  their  villages. 
Relying  upon  the  protection  of  the  government  and  the  justice 
of -their  cause,  they  were  not,  after  the  disclosures  that  had 
been  made  of  means  employed  to  obtain  that  treaty,  prepared 


59 

for  the  issue,  and,  on  being  apprised  of  it,  they  manifested  the 
deepest  distress.  In  the  pathetic  language  of  one  of  their 
chiefs,  addressed  to  us,  ''  their  women  were  seen  on  all  sides 
weeping  in  their  houses,  along  the  roads  as  they  passed  to 
their  occupations,  and  in  the  fields  whilst  employed  in  their 
labors." 

As  soon  as  they  had  time  for  reflection,  a  general  council 
was  called  for  the  purpose  of  taking  into  consideration  their 
situation,  and,  after  much  deliberation,  they  come,  as  we  have 
been  informed,  to  the  conclusion,  whatever  might  be  the  con- 
sequences, that  they  would  in  no  event  voluntarily  remove  to 
the  country  allotted  for  them  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  that, 
if  driven  off  by  violence,  they  should  accept  the  invitation 
they  had  received  to  join  their  friends  in  Canada,  and  remove 
there. 

Before  dissolving  the  council,  they  agreed  again  to  memo- 
rialize the  executive  of  Massachusetts,  and  also  of  New  York, 
and  to  petition  Congress  with  the  view  of  once  more  stating 
their  grievances,  and  imploring  relief  so  far  as  either  of  those 
authorities  might  yet  be  able  and  disposed  to  extend  protection 
to  them.  They  also  solicited  an  interview  with  Friends,  which 
was  granted  to  them,  and  several  of  their  chiefs,  by  arrange- 
ment, met  our  committee  at  Farmington,  in  the  state  of  New 
York,  on  the  seventeenth  of  last  month,  when,  after  making  a 
full  and  unreserved  disclosure  to  us  of  their  present  difhcultieg 
and  purposes,  they  earnestly  solicited  our  assistance  and  advice. 

On  this  occasion  they  reiterated  their  statements  in  regard  to 
the  means  that  had  been  taken  to  inveigle  them  out  of  their 
lands,  their  objections  against  removing  to  the  country  that  had 
been  designated  for  their  residence  beyond  the  river  Mississip- 
pi— their  intention  never  to  abandon  their  present  homes  un- 
less compelled  by  force  to  do  so,  and  their  conclusion,  should 
this  be  done,  to  retire  into  Canada,  and  join  their  nation  there. 

The  committee,  after  due  consideration  of  the  objections 
urged  by  the  Indians  to  removing  upon  the  lands  that  had  been 
appropriated  for  them  in  the  west,  believing,  as  they  did,  that 


60 

these  objections  were  well  founded,  could  not  advise  them  to 
go  there,  and  for  many  grave  reasons  could  not  recommend 
them  to  go  into  Canada ;  they  therefore  declined  advising  them 
to  do  either  the  one  or  the  other,  and  addressed  to  them  the 
following  communication  in  reply  to  their  application  to  us. 
[See  address,  pages  48,  &c.] 

The  committee  are  sensible  oi,  and  duly  appreciate  the  very 
respectful  attention  which  their  applications  to  the  President  on 
behalf  of  these  Indians  have  been  received,  and  they  feel  it  to  be 
due  to  the  President  to  give  him  such  information  as  they  pos- 
sess, and  a  full  statement  of  the  part  taken  by  them  in  regard 
to  this  matter.  They  have  Avitnessed  the  heart-rending  distress 
of  these  o-reatly  wronged  people,  and  have  sympathised  in  their 
afflictions,  and  under  an  apprehension  that  it  was  their  duty  to 
assist  them,  they  have  extended  such  aid  as  they  were  enabled 
to  aiford  them,  consistently  -with  our  well  known  pacific  and 
non-resisting  principles.  Under  these  views  and  impressions, 
the  Society  of  Friends  have  faithfully  made  known  their  case 
to  those  who  had  the  power  to  protect  and  to  do  them  justice ; 
whatever,  therefore,  may  be  the  consequences  of  the  measures 
that  have,  or  may  hereafter  be  pursued  towards  these  injured 
people,  the  committee  trust  that  the  responsibility  may  not  at- 
tach to  us. 

The  condition  of  this  small  remnant  of  a  once  numerous  and 
powerful  nation  is  calculated  to  awaken  the  commiseration  of 
every  benevolent  mind — after  being  hunted  down  and  op- 
pressed, as  the  race  has  been  from  generation  to  generation, 
thev  now  find  themselves  about  to  be  dispossessed  of  the  last 
pittance  of  their  once  widely  extended  domain,  and  driven  into 
a  distant  country,  which  they  fully  believe  is  altogether  un- 
suited  to  their  conditien  and  habits,  and  where  they  apprehend 
that  poverty,  disease  and  misery  await  them.  Many  seem  to 
desire  that  death  would  at  once  terminate  their  sufferings, 
rather  than  that  they  should,  by  a  compulsory  removal,  be 
forced  into  a  barbarous  and  remote  country  where  they  must 
sink  under  the  lingering  miseries  which  they  believe  will  there 
follow  them. 


61 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  is  most  respectfully  suggested 
to  the  President  whether,  instead  of  forcing  them  to  a  place 
against  which  they  feel  such  stiong  objections,  or  perhaps 
driving  them  into  a  neighboring  colony,  w^here,  under  some 
circumstances,  they  might  become  very  dangerous  neighbors, 
it  would  not  be  best,  if  these  people  must  be  removed,  to  allow 
them  to  select  for  themselves,  from  the  vast  unoccupied  terri- 
tories of  the  United  States,  a  residence  to  which  they  could  be 
induced  voluntarily  to  emigrate,  and  where  they  might  reason- 
ably hope  to  obtain  a  subsistance,  and  remain  unmolested  un- 
der the  protection  of  the  United  States,  and  be  accessible  to 
their  friends,  who  would  desire  to  extend  assistance  to  them. 
Should  they  be  able  to  find  such  a  country,  and  be  permitted 
to  go  there,  the  committee  doubt  not  but  that  their  friends 
would  afford  their  co-operation  in  effecting  so  desirable  a 
purpose. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  said  committee, 

PHILIP  E.  THOMAS, 
BENJ.  FERRIS. 

Wilmington,  Seventh  month  7,  1840. 

Hitherto,  all  the  exertions  of  the  joint  committees,  to  save 
the  Indians,  had  been  made  during  the  administration  of  Mar- 
tin Van  Buren,  when  it  became  ascertained  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  year  1840,  that  there  would  be  a  change  in  the  execu- 
tive of  the  United  States,  a  hope  was  entertained,  that  this 
change  of  the  administration,  would  produce  a  change  of  mea- 
sures, if  not  a  change  of  policy,  in  relation  to  the  aborigines  of 
our  country.  It  was  during  the  administration  of  Martin  Van 
Buren  that  all  the  corrupt  measures  herein  referred  to  were  in- 
stituted, to  drive  the  Seneca  Indians  from  their  reservations. 
It  was  under  that  administration  that  the  treaty  of  1838,  ob- 
tained by  bribery,  forgery,  and  other  frauds,  was  got  up,  and 
brought  into  the  Senate.  It  was  under  that  administration  that 
the  "  amended  treaty"  was  ratified  and  proclaimed  as  the  law 
of  the  land,  after  the  most  decisive  evidence  of  its  grossly 


62 

fraudulent  character,  had  been  laid  before  the  Senate,  and  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  were  not  denied  or  contro- 
verted. Many  of  our  fellow-citizens  entertained  a  belief  that 
the  President  elect  held  more  just  and  liberal  views,  in  relation 
to  the  Indian  population  of  our  country,  than  had  guided  his 
predecessor;  and  the  joint  committees,  anxious  to  omit  no  ex- 
ertion, and  to  lose  no  opportunity  for  the  relief  of  our  Indian 
brethren,  thought  it  right  to  make  an  early  application  to  the 
new  administration  in  their  favor.  A  committee  was  accordinglv 
appointed  to  proceed  to  the  Seat  of  Government,  in  order  to 
ascertain,  as  far  as  possible,  the  views  and  feelings  of  the  new 
cabinet,  in  regard  to  our  concern.  Several  of  the  most  active 
and  prominent  men  at  that  period  were  consulted  on  the  occa- 
sion,— men  who  well  understood  the  subject — who  felt  a  deep 
interest  in  it,  and  who  were  likely  to  be  placed  in  situations  to 
aid  in  the  promotion  of  our  cause.  Of  the  benevolent  feelings 
and  high  sense  of  justice,  entertained  by  the  new  President  we 
were  fully  assured ;  and  we  were  further  informed,  that,  on 
the  organization  of  the  new  administration,  we  might  rely  with 
confidence  on  its  co-oneration,  in  every  measure  the  law  would 
authorize  for  the  relief  of  the  Seneca  Indians. 

The  death  of  the  President  occurred  very  soon  afterwards. 
Although  this  circumstance  brought  a  cloud  over  our  prospects, 
the  committee  determined  to  persevere  in  its  application  for 
relief,  to  the  new  administration.  The  following  memorial  ad- 
dressed to  John  Tyler,  President  of  the  United  States,  was  pre- 
pared, and  a  delegation  appointed  to  present  it  to  him. 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  memorial  of  the  Committees  of  the  four  Yearly  meetings 
of  Friends  of  Genessee,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Bal- 
timore, appointed  by  those  meetings  on  Indian  concerns, 

Respecutflly  represents : 

That  during  the  last  session  of  Congress,  the  said  committees 
appealed  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  to  both 
branches  of  the  National  Legislature  on  behalf  of  the  Seneca 


63 

Indians  in  the  State  of  New  York.  The  distressed  situation  of 
that  people  induces  us  again  to  appeal  to  the  Government  of 
our  country  for  their  relief. 

A  treaty  of  these  Indians,  said  to  have  been  concluded  at 
Buffalo  Creek,  on  the  15th  of  January,  1838,  by  Ransom  H. 
Gillet,  a  commissioner  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
chiefs,  headmen,  and  warriors  of  the  several  tribes  of  New 
York  Indians,  assembled  in  Council,  was  laid  before  the  Senate 
in  the  early  part  of  that  year,  and  by  that  body  referred  to  its 
Committee  on  Indian  affairs.  It  was  thoroughly  examined  by 
that  committee,  and  unanimously  rejected. 

The  Committee  then  modelled  another  treaty,  since  called 
"  the  amended  treaty."  and  the  Senate,  to  guard  against  future 
frauds,  adopted  a  resolution,  dated  June  11,  1838,  in  which 
they  say,  "  the  treaty  shall  have  no  force  or  effect  whatever, 
as  it  relates  to  any  of  the  said  tribes,  nations,  or  bands  of  New 
York  Indians,  nor  shall  it  be  understood  that  the  Senate  have 
assented  to  any  of  the  contracts,  (meaning  the  Deeds  of  Con^ 
veyance,)  connected  with  it,  until  the  same,  with  the  amend* 
ments  herein  proposed,  is  submitted,  and  fully,  and  fairly  ex- 
plained by  a  Commissioner  of  the  United  States,  to  each  of 
said  tribes  or  bands,  separately  assembled  in  Council,  and  they 
have  given  their  free  and  voluntary  assent  thereto.  And  if 
one  or  more  of  said  tribes  or  bands,  when  consulted  as  afore- 
said, shall  freely  assent  to  said  treaty  as  amended,  and  to  theif 
contract  (or  Deed  of  Conveyance)  connected  therewith,  it 
shall  be  binding  and  obligatory,  Sec. 

With  the  conditions  thus  plainly  expressed  by  the  Senate, 
the  commissioner  appointed  on  this  occasion,  did  but  partially 
comply :  those  of  the  most  importance  to  the  Indians  Were 
wholly  disregarded. 

In  the  summer  of  1838,  the  commissioner  held  a  Council 
with  the  Seneca  Indians,  at  Buffalo  Creek  ;  the  treaty  was  ex- 
plained, and  after  a  long  and  protracted  session  of  more  than 
forty  days,  giving  full  time  for  deliberation,  the  treaty  was  re- 


64 

jected  by  an  overwhelming  majority  ot  the  chiefs ;  sixteen  only, 
being  in  favor  of  it,  and  more  than  sixty  against  it. 

We  will  not,  on  the  present  occasion,  describe  the  clandes- 
tine manner  in  which  the  commissioner  afterwards  proceeded 
to  obtain  signatures  to  the  treaty,  in  wigwams,  taverns,  and 
private  houses;  nor  go  into  an  exposition  of  the  bribery, 
threats,  misrepresentations,  and  other  corrupt  means  used 
to  procure  the  assent  of  the  Seneca  chiefs  to  that  instru- 
ment. Documents  of  an  authentic  character  in  the  Indian 
Department  at  Washington,  or  in  possession  of  the  under- 
si2:ned,  will  amply  illustrate  these  charges,  and  prove  their 
truth.  It  will  suffice  at  present,  to  say,  that  with  all  these 
means,  a  majority  of  the  chiefs  never  were  induced  to  sign  it. 
Out  of  eighty-one  chiefs,  acknowledged  as  such,  by  both  par- 
ties, only  sixteen  put  their  names  to  it  in  council,  and  thirteen 
afterwards ;  making  in  the  whole,  twenty-nine.  The  other 
signatures  were  the  names  of  Indians,  w-ho  either  were  not 
chiefs,  or  who  never  signed  the  assent,  or  authorised  others  to 
sign  on  their  behalf. 

The  treaty  thus  executed,  was  again  sent  to  the  Senate. 
That  body,  after  hearing  testimony  on  both  sides  of  the  ques- 
tion, and  not  being  satisfied  of  the  validity  of  its  execution,  re- 
turned it  to  the  President,  w4th  a  resolution  dated  March  2d, 
1839,  stating,  that  whenever  the  President  should  be  satisfied 
that  the  assent  of  the  Seneca  tribe  of  Indians  had  been  given 
to  the  amended  treaty,  according  to  the  true  intent  and  mean- 
ing of  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  June  11,  1838,  "the  Se- 
nate recommends  that  the  President  make  proclamation  of  said 
treaty,  and  carry  the  same  into  effect." 

In  the  summer  of  1839,  the  President,  in  order  to  obtain 
satisfaction  on  the  subject,  despatched  the  Secratary  of  War  to 
the  Seneca  nation.  A  council  was  called,  and  held  at  Catta- 
raugus, but  nothing  was  done  calculated  to  satisfy  the  President, 
or  remove  his  doubts.  On  the  contrary,  a  more  decided  oppo- 
sition to  the  treaty  and  its  objects,  was  manifested  by  the  In- 
dians, in  consequence  of  which,  the  President  declined  to  use 


65 

the  power  conferred  on  him,  to  proclaim  the  treaty,  and  on  the 
l3th  of  the  First  month,  (January,)  ]840,  returned  it  to  the 
Senate.  In  his  message  on  that  occasion,  he  very  distinctly 
declared  that  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  of  the  11th  of  June, 
1838,  did  require  that  the  assent  of  the  Indians  to  the  amended 
treaty,  should  be  given  in  council, — that  such  assent  had  not 
been  so  given, — that  no  advance  towards  obtaining  it  in  council 
had  been  made,  and  that  the  assent  of  a  majority  of  them  in 
council  could  not  be  obtained.  As  it  regards  the  charge  of 
BRIBERY,  the  President  says  ''that  improper  means  have  been 
employed  to  obtain  the  assent  of  the  Seneca  chiefs,  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe,  and  I  have  not  been  able  to  satisfy  my- 
self that  I  can,  consistently  with  the  resolution  of  the  Senate 
of  the  2d  of  March,  1839,  cause  the  treaty  to  be  carried  into 
effect." 

Under  this  impression,  the  President  returned  the  amended 
treaty  to  the  Senate.  It  was  sent  back  because  it  had  not  been 
executed  according  to  the  conditions  which  had  been  prescribed 
by  the  Senate  itself.  Notwithstanding  these  circumstances, 
that  body,  by  a  resolution  dated  March  25,  1840,  declared  that 
"in  the  opinion  of  the  Senate,  the  treaty  with  the  Seneca  In- 
dians had  been  satisfactorily  acceded  to,"  and  that  "the  Presi- 
dent is  authorized  to  proclaim  it  as  in  full  force  and  operation." 
The  vote  on  this  resolution  was  taken  when  many  of  the  mem- 
bers were  absent.  On  the  final  question  being  put,  it  appeared 
that  the  Senate  was  equally  divided,  nineteen  voting  in  favor, 
and  nineteen  against  the  ratification.  The  question  was  settled 
by  the  casting  vote  of  the  Vice  President  in  its  favor. 

Since  this  act  of  the  Senate,  circumstances  have  occurred, 
confirming  the  unfavorable  views  we  had  taken  of  that  treaty, 
and  the  means  by  which  the  parties  interested  in  driving  the 
Indians  from  their  lands,  had  taken  to  secure  their  object.  The 
Government  of  Massachusetts,  in  the  compact  between  that 
state,  and  the  State  of  New  York,  made  in  the  year  1786,  re- 
lating to  the  pre-emptive  right  to  Indian  lands,  in  the  latter 
state,  was  vested  with  a  supervisory  control  over  all  future 


66 

sales  of  these  lands,  to  be  made  by  the  Six  Nations.  During 
the  past  year,  the  Governor  and  Council  of  Massachusetts  by 
memorials  from  the  Seneca  Indians,  and  from  the  bodies  we 
represent,  were  induced  to  take  up  the  subject.  A  committee 
of  the  Council  was  appointed,  who  after  a  close  and  searching 
investigation  of  the  circumstances  relating  to  the  origin,  pro- 
gress, andalledged  execution  of  the  treaty,  and  "the  contracts'' 
or  Deeds  of  Conveyance  connected  with  it,  made  a  detailed 
and  able  report  on  the  subject,  which  has  been  adopted  by  the 
council,  and  approved  by  the  Governor.  In  that  report  they 
say:  "If  the  Governor  and  Council  of  Massachusetts,  in  1839, 
had  known  all  that  had  occurred  in  this  unhappy  business,  even 
when  the  Deed  was  presented  for  their  approbation,  we  are  con- 
fident they  would  not  have  approved  it.  But  they  did  not  then 
know  that  a  very  large  majority  of  the  Seneca  nation  was  strong- 
ly opposed  to  a  sale  of  their  lands ;  nor  that  the  signatures  of 
several  of  the  chiefs  had  been  obtained  by  bribery."  We 
herewith  present  to  the  President  a  copy  of  that  report. 

We  do  solemnly  believe  that  a  just  regard  to  the  honor  and 
good  faith  of  the  country  requires  a  reconsideration  of  this  trea- 
ty, by  the  constituted  authorities  of  the  government.     In  them 
we  hope  there  is  a  power  to  prevent  future  injuries,  and  to  re- 
dress the  wrongs  already  inflicted  on  an  inoffensive  and  suffer- 
ing people.     And  although  for  the  performance  of  a  plain  act 
of  justice,  a  precedent  ought  not  to  be  deemed  requisite,  yet, 
for  the  course  we  now  respectfully  suggest,  a  very  clear  prece- 
dent is,  as  we  understand,  to  be  found  in  the  recent  acts  of  our 
own   government.     During  the   administration   of    President  ' 
Monroe  a  treaty  with  the  Creek  nation,  said  to  have  been  made 
at  ''the  Indian  Springs,"  was  submitted  to  the  Senate,  profess- 
ing to  have  been  duly  and  fairly  executed.     Under  this  aspect 
of  the  concern  it  was  ratified  by  that  branch  of  the  treaty 
making  power,  and  duly  proclaimed  by  the  President  as  the 
law  of  the  land.     Subsequently  it  was  discovered  to  have  been 
obtained  by  fraud  and   executed  by  only  a  minority  of  the 
chiefs ,  in  both  these  respects  resembling  the  treaty,  to  which 


67 

we  would  now  draw  the  attention  of  the  government.  Upon 
being  satisfied  of  these  facts,  President  Adams,  at  the  succeed- 
ing session  of  the  Legislature,  returned  it  to  the  Senate  with 
his  views  of  its  character,  whereupon  it  was  declared  null  and 
void. 

In  addition  to  the  reasons  already  suggested  for  pursuino-  a 
similar  course  on  the  present  occasion,  it  is  deemed  proper  to 
state  to  the  President,  that  in  the  opinion  of  many  distino-uished 
legal  characters,  the  ratification  of  the  Seneca  treaty  by  the 
Senate,  in  manner  aforesaid,  was  not  in  conformity  with  the 
requisitions  of  the  Constitution,  which  seems  expressly  to  re- 
quire the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present  to 
make  a  treaty  valid.  In  case  of  the  Seneca  treaty,  as  we  have 
before  stated,  the  Senate  was  equally  divided,  and  it  required 
the  casting  vote  of  the  Vice  President  to  decide  the  question. 

We,  therefore,  cannot  but  hope  that  under  the  present  ad- 
ministration of  the  government,  coming  to  the  consideration  of 
the  question  from  any  former  bias,  the  Seneca  nation  may  find 
that  justice,  which  has  hitherto  been  wirhheld  from  them,  and 
our  beloved  country  preserved  from  a  stain  on  its  character 
which  every  upright  and  honorable  citizen  must  sincerely 
deprecate. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  said  committees, 

BENJ.  FERRIS,  Clerk. 
Washington,  Sixth  month  Sth,  1840. 

At  the  same  time  the  Indians,  moving  in  their  own  cause, 
presented  to  the  President  the  following  clear  and  well  written 
memorial.  It  contains  a  brief  but  lucid  statement  of  their  case, 
and,  as  the  reader  will  perceive,  was,  like  our  own,  written  at 
a  time,  when  we  yet  entertained  a  hope,  that  the  power  vested 
by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  in  the  President  and 
Senate,  to  make  treaties,  was  sufficient  to  annul  them,  when 
palpably  tainted  by  fraud.  This  hope  was  probably  well  found- 
ed in  cases  where  by  the  treaty  no  rights  of  property  had  been 
vested  in  a  third  party.    By  the  treaty  now  sought  to  be  annulled 


68 

the  Ogden  Company  had  become  legally  possessed  of  a  vast 
real  estate,  which,  our  ablest  legal  advisers  assured  us,  could 
not  be  taken  from  them,  by  any  legislative  act.  It  was  this 
circumstance  that  turned  our  attention  from  the  treaty  making 
power,  to  the  only  other  resource,  the  spirit  of  compj^omise. 

A  Memorial  of  the   Seneca  Indians  to  the  President  of  the 

United  States. 

The  undersio-ned  Chiefs  of  the  Seneca  nation  of  Indians  re- 
siding  in  the  western  parts  of  New  York,  would  respectfully 
call  your  attention  to  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  our  rela- 
tion to  the  government  and  people  of  the  U.  States.  It  is  well 
known  that,  by  former  treaties,  the  full  enjoyment  of  our  rights 
and  privileges,  within  the  territories  of  the  U.  States,  the  protec- 
tion of  the  government  over  our  persons  and  property,  and  the 
right  of  our  soil,  within  certain  defined  limits,  was  guaranteed 
to  us  for  ever.  We  have  strictly  and,  so  far  as  we  are  able  to 
judge,  honorably  fulfilled,  on  our  part,  the  conditions  of  those 
treaties.  But  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  deprive  us  of  the 
advantages  therein  secured  to  us,  by  forcing  upon  us,  against 
our  will,  a  new  treaty,  requiring  us  to  emigrate  beyond  the 
Mississippi. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  negociations,  a  very  large  ma- 
jority, at  least  fourteenffteenths  of  the  Seneca  nation,  have 
been  opposed  to  this  new  treaty,  and  still  remain  so.  We  have, 
however,  sought  to  carry  on  our  opposition  simply  by  making 
known  to  the  government  of  the  United  States  the  facts  in  the 
case,  relying  on  the  justice  and  integrity  of  the  government  to 
deliver  us  from  the  evil  souo;ht  to  be  inflicted  on  us.  This  we 
were  enabled  to  do  so  eflectually  that  the  Senate's  Committee 
on  Indian  affairs,  after  a  patient  and  thorough  investigation, 
pronounced  the  treaty  fraudulent,  and  recommended  its  rejec- 
tion. The  President  also  distinctly  informed  the  Senate  that 
"no  inducement  could  prevail  on  the  majority  of  our  chiefs  to 
give  their  assent  to  it  in  council,  and  that  there  was  too  much 
reason  for  believing  "  that  improper  measures  had  been  em- 


69 

ployed  to  effect  it."  Still,  notwithstanding  these  things,  the 
question  of  ratification  having  been  taken  in  the  absence  of 
many  of  the  Senators,  was  decided  by  the  casting  vote  of  the 
Vice  President,  Johnson,  in  the  affirmative ;  aud  President  Van 
Buren,  although  he  had  a  little  before  informed  the  Senate  of 
its  injustice,  immediately  proclaimed  it  as  the  law  of  the  land, 
notwithstanding  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  requires 
the  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  Senators  present  for  the  ratification 
of  any  treaty  during  the  session  of  Congress. 

We  have  the  opinion  of  many  distinguished  jurists,  and 
some  of  them  eminent  Senators,  that  the  ratification  was  in 
direct  violatioa  of  the  constitution,  as  well  as  of  the  principles 
established  by  the  government  for  treating  with  Indian  nations. 
Besides,  the  Governor  and  Council  of  Massachusetts,  a  sort  of 
third  party,  if  not  to  the  treaty,  at  least  to  the  deed  of  sale  of 
our  lands,  connected  with  it,  have,  after  a  minute  investigation, 
unanimously  reported  the  whole  proceeding  to  be  unjust  and 
fraudulent. 

Many  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  have  also 
expressed  similar  opinions,  and  assured  us  of  their  desire  that 
the  whole  subject  might  undergo  a  thorough  and  careful  re- 
vision, and  that  the  vote  authorizing  the  President  to  proclaim 
the  treaty,  might  be  reconsidered  in  the  Senate. 

A  large  number  of  citizens  of  western  New  York,  and  many 
of  our  friends  in  other  places,  impelled  by  regard  for  justice, 
have  petitioned  Congress  not  to  make  any  appropriation  to 
carry  the  treaty  into  effect,  until  a  re-investigation  should  be 
made  by  the  Senate;  and  we  are  encouraged  by  the  fact,  that 
whenever  our  wrongs  are  understood  by  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  the  kindest  sympathy  is  manifested  in  our  behalf. 

At  the  opening  of  the  last  session  of  Congress,  a  memorial 
was  presented  to  Mr.  Van  Buren,  requesting  him  to  bring  the 
subject  before  the  Senate  for  reconsideration,  but  he  utterly 
refused  to  comply  with  our  request.  A  delegation  of  our 
chiefs  waited  on  your  lamented  predecessor  soon  after  his  inau- 
guration, and  others  of  our  friends  recommended  our  case  to 


70 

his  notice ;  and  we  received  from  him  assurances  that,  at  the 
proper  time,  the  subject  should  come  up  for  reconsideration. 
God,  in  his  inscrutable  but  righteous  providence,  has  removed 
him,  at  the  very  commencement  of  those  efforts  at  reform 
which  lay  near  his  heart,  and  which  the  voice  of  your  great 
nation  so  imperatively  demanded,  and  now  our  hopes  of  re- 
dress hang,  under  God,  upon  him  on  whom  devolve  the  ardu- 
ous duties  and  responsibilities  from  which  he  was  so  early  and 
so  suddenly  released. 

We  are  ignorant  of  your  views  respecting  our  case.  Indeed, 
we  know  not  that  it  has  ever  been  properly  presented  to  your 
notice  ;  w'e  have,  therefore,  assembled  in  council,  and  resolved 
to  address  you  this  memorial,  which  we  have  requested  the 
agent  of  the  War  Department,  Griffith  M.  Cooper,  to  present 
to  you,  with  the  respects  of  the  Seneca  nation. 

We  most  earnertly  and  respectfully  request  you  to  present 
the  subject  to  the  Senate,  at  the  earliest  opportunity,  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  a  reconsideration  of  the  resolution  au- 
thorizing the  President  to  proclaim  the  t^eat3^ 

We  ask  this  for  the  following;  among  other  reasons : — 
1st.  As  already  stated,  we  are  informed  by  some  of  the  most 
distinguished  men  in  the  country,  and  believe  that,  that  act  of 
the  Senate  was  unconstitutional. 

2.  The  amended  treaty  has  never  been  lawfully  ratified  by 
the  constituted  authorities  of  the  Seneca  nation,  only  six- 
teen out  of  more  than  eig-htv  chiefs  havin?  sio;ned  their  assent 
in  open  council,  while  more  than  sixty  signed  their  dissent  and 
protest  before  they  left  the  council  house. 

3d.  More  than  fourteen-fifteenths  of  our  people  are,  and  al- 
ways have  been,  opposed  to  the  sale  of  our  lands. 

4th.  Improper  and  very  corrupt  means  have  been  employed 
to  obtain  the  assent  of  our  chiefs.  Clandestine  manceuvering, 
threats,  liquor,  bribes,  misrepresentations,  the  withholding  our 
annuities,  or  appropriating  them  without  our  consent  or  know- 
ledge to  the  purposes  of  the  emigrating  party,  were  some  of  the 
means  used  for  affecting  their  designs  against  us. 


71 

5th.  When,  by  the  use  of  such  means,  it  was  found  impos- 
sible to  eke  out  a  majority,  even  though  those  operated  on  were 
allowed  to  sign  in  taverns,  and  in  the  darkness  of  midnight,  our 
people,  and  the  government  of  the  United  States,  were  im- 
posed upon  by  the  clandestine  attempt  to  create  new  chiefs,  at 
a  private  house  in  Buffalo  city,  and,  on  the  strength  of  this 
mock  election,  the  signatures  of  these  men  were  appended  to 
the  assent  to  the  amended  treaty,  and  constituted  the  pretence 
for  a  majority,  on  which  the  Senate  voted  the  proclamation  of 
the  treaty. 

6th.  Because  it  will  be  the  destruction  of  our  people  if  forced 
upon  us ;  notwithstanding  the  liberality  of  its  provisions,  it  will 
throw  us  back  again  into  a  state  of  barbarism  from  which  we 
have  but  too  lately  emerged.  It  will  prevent  us  for  a  genera- 
tion at  least  from  taking  the  rank  of  citizens  of  the  United 
States.  It  will  exchange  the  influences  of  civilization  and 
Christianity  by  Avhich  we  are  now  surrounded  for  the  contagious 
example  of  those  more  barbarous  than  ourselves,  and  of  the 
border  settlers  among  the  whites.  It  will  place  us  in  a  country 
which,  without  great  previous  expense,  cannot  be  made  to 
maintain  a  civilized  people,  and  in  a  climate  which  has  hereto- 
fore proved  fatal  to  a  large  proportion  of  those  Indians  with 
whom  we  have  been  acquainted,  who  have  emigrated  there. 

7th.  Because  we  have  a  claim  upon  the  government,  by 
virtue  of  former  treaties,  for  protection  from  such  evils,  and 
that  claim  we  have  never  forfeited  by  unfriendly  or  injurious 
conduct.  We  have  fought  in  commou  with  your  own  soldiers, 
and  shed  our  blood  for  the  United  States ;  and,  from  our  youth, 
have  loved  the  free  republican  institutions  of  your  country. 
We  were  born  within  your  limits,  and,  though  called  savages 
by  those  who  would  dispossess  us,  we  feel  this  moment  a  vastly 
deeper  interest  in  every  thing  which  concerns  the  welfare  of 
the  country  than  the  hosts  of  foreigners,  w^ho,  with  all  their 
imported  notions  of  government  and  religion,  have  so  easily 
become  naturalized  and  obtained  the  rank  and  appellation  of 
citizens.     From  our  intercourse  with  such  men,  we  fear  they 


72 

bear  the  name  in  many  instances  without  the  feeling  of  citi- 
zens. We  imbibed  that  leeling  with  our  earliest  breath,  and 
yet  we  must  be  driven  off  beyond  the  limits  of  civilization,  be- 
cause we  lack  the  name. 

We  deprecate  such  a  doom.  We  have  compared  our  own 
condition  with  that  of  our  kindred,  in  some  cases  the  members 
of  our  families,  residing  in  a  neighboring  province.  The  land 
is  fertile  there.  Our  friends  there  are  numerous.  Our  lan- 
o^uao'e  is  correctly  spoken  there,  and  it  would  seem  that  by 
casting  our  lot  amongst  them  we  might  be  happy.  But  the 
spirit  of  improvement,  the  genius  of  your  free  institutions,  the 
enero-y  of  your  republican  government  are  wanting  there,  and 
we  should  deplore  the  stern  necessity  which  would  compel  us 
to  seek  a  home  across  the  river.  Still,  it  would  be  far  prefera- 
ble to  emigrating  beyond  that  distant  river,  where,  habituated 
as  we  are  to  a  more  northern  climate,  death  or  ills  which  would 
embitter  the  richest  inheritance,  would  be  our  certain  portion. 
Whils  the  rights  guaranteed  to  us  by  solemn  treaties  would 
secure  us  from  both  these  alternatives,  we  look  respectfully  but 
confidently  to  the  head  of  the  United  States  for  the  strict  ful- 
filment of  the  terms  of  those  treaties. 

8th.  Because  we  never  owned  the  lands  in  Ouisconsin  pre- 
tended to  be  conveyed  in  that  treaty  to  the  United  States,  but 
have  always  told  the  government  we  have  no  interest  or  con- 
cern in  it  whatever;  and  we  believe  it  unjust  to  the  people  of 
the  United  States  to  pay  for  that  land  twice,  and  devote  so 
large  a  sum  of  money,  and  so  much  of  the  public  domain,  when 
we  have  in  fact  no  claim  upon  government  for  any  thing  at  all 
on  the  score  of  these  lands. 

9th.  We  ask  for  the  speedy  reconsideration  of  the  subject, 
because  the  company  who  pretend  to  claim  under  the  treaty, 
by  their  agents  and  commissioners,  are  constantly  committing 
trespasses  upon  our  lands,  and  carry  off  our  timber,  stone, 
wood.  Sec,  and  converting  them  to  their  own  use,  notwith- 
standing they  were  expressly  forbidden  by  a  special  messenger 
from  the  War  Department  to  take  any  such  action  under  the 


73 

treaty  till  the  expiration  of  five  years,  in  which  we  were  to  re- 
move, should  give  them  possession.  Their  conduct  is  in  many 
cases  exceedingly  vexatious,  and  could  not  be  borne,  did  we  not 
wait  with  confidence  for  the  redress  which  we  expect  from  the 
hands  of  government.  If  that  redress  should  be  long  delayed, 
they  will  rob  us  of  the  most  valuable  part  of  our  timber,  and 
we  exceedingly  fear  that  we  should  not  be  able,  by  legal  pio- 
cess,  even  though  it  should  terminate  in  our  favor,  to  recover 
the  value  of  the  property  they  are  destroying. 

For  these  and  other  reasons  which  would  protract  our 
communication  to  an  unwarrantable  length,  we  earnestly 
and  respectfully  pray  you  to  lay  our  case  before  the  Senate 
without  delay.  We  ask  you  to  do  this  at  the  extra  session* 
although  there  may  not  be  time  to  act  upon  it,  because  we 
suppose  that  if  the  treaty  shall  be  returned  to  the  Senate,  the 
company  will  be  under  the  necessity  of  suspending  their  de- 
predations upon  us  until  the  question  is  decided,  so  that  the 
sooner  you  shall  be  pleased  to  comply  with  our  request,  the 
sooner  and  the  more  effectually  will  you  extend  to  us  the  protec- 
tion promised  by  the  former  treaties,  to  which  we  have  alluded. 
We  will  only  add  that  we  have  heard  a  rumor  that  the  Ogden 
Company  have  recently  made  arrangements  with  the  govern- 
ment for  the  payment  of  the  consideration  money  of  the  treaty, 
and  the  money  for  our  improvements.  We  hope  it  will  prove 
that  this  report  is  without  foundation,  and  we  most  sincerely 
entreat  your  Excellency  not  to  make  any  arrangement  which 
will  in  any  Avay  sanction  or  give  validity  to  the  pretend- 
ed treaty,  or  any  of  the  contracts  connected  with  it,  until  the 
Senate  shall  have  had  an  opportunity  for  acting  again  upon  the 
subject.  Meanwhile  we  shall  be  obliged  by  your  communi- 
cating to  us  as  much  information  as  you  may  deem  proper  re- 
specting the  course  you  will  pursue,  as  we  wish  to  send  a  dele- 
gation to  Washington  city  whenever  any  disposal  is  to  be  made 
of  the  subject,  or  any  action  taken  upon  our  case. 
With  very  great  respect, 

Your  obedient  servants. 
10 


74 

The  forgoing  memorial  was  signed  by  eighty-six  chiefs  and 
headmen  of  the  several  Seneca  reservations,  and  was,  on  thei 
behalf,  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United  States  on  the 
8th  day  of  the  Sixth  month,  (June,)  1841. 

The  current  of  public  opinion  at  this  time,  beginning  to  set 
8trono"ly  against  the  conduct  of  the  Ogden  Land  Company,  they 
found  it  very  desirable  to  direct  it  into  another  channel.  For 
this  purpose  a  pamphlet  was  published,  purporting  to  have  been 
written  by  an  Indian  chief,  entitled  "  An  Appeal  to  the  Chris- 
tian Community,  on  the  Condition  and  Prospects  of  the  New 
York  Indians,  in  answer  to  a  book  entitled  '  The  Case  of  the 
New  York  Indians,'  and  other  publications  of  the  Society  of 
Friends.  By  Nathaniel  T.  Strong,  a  chief  of  the  Seneca 
tribe." 

This  work  was  calculated  to  mislead  those  only,  who  were 
wholly  ignorant  of  the  character  and  conduct  of  that  company. 
It  was  hardly  worth  the  trouble  of  a  refutation,  but  Friends 
charged  with  the  Indian  concern,  w^ere  then  possessed  of  facts 
and  of  important  circumstances,  a  knowledge  which  it  was 
desirable  to  throw  before  the  public  ;  and  they  deemed  this  a 
proper  occasion  again  to  appear  in  print,  in  order  more  fully  to 
illustrate  the  subject,  to  excite  public  sympathy,  and  to  enlist 
the  virtuous  part  of  the  community,  in  the  cause  of  suffering 
humanity.  For  these  purposes  they  agreed,  in  the  fifth  month, 
1841,  to  publish  a  work  entitled,  "  A  Further  Illustration  of  the 
Case  of  the  Seneca  Indians  in  the  State  of  New  York,  in  a 
review  of  a  pamphlet,  entitled,  ♦  An  Appeal  to  the  Christian 
Community,  &c.  By  Nathaniel  T.  Strong,  a  chief  of  the 
Seneca  tribe. 

This  work  was  extensively  circulated,  particularly  in  the 
western  part  of  the  state  of  New  York.  Its  happy  effects  were 
soon  apparent.  The  wrongs  and  sufferings  of  the  poor,  op- 
pressed and  defrauded  Indians  became  more  generally  known ; 
and  the  commiseration  of  the  public  found  expression  in  news- 
papers and  other  periodicals.  The  murmur  of  disapprobation, 
loud  and  deep,  was  distinctly  heard  through  the  land,  more 


75 

especially  (where  it  was  most  desirable)  in  the  state  of  New 
York,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Indian  Reservation ;  but  no 
where  more  distinctly  than  in  the  legislative  halls  of  that  noble 
commonwealth. 

About  this  time,  another  powerful  auxiliary  of  the  Indian 
cause  appeared  in  the  field.  The  memorial  which  the  com- 
mittee, after  its  meeting  at  Farmington,  presented  to  the 
Governor  and  Council  of  the  state  of  Massachusetts,  was  re- 
spectfully received,  and  promptly  attended  to.  Entering  with 
much  interest  into  the  subject,  they  appointed  a  committee  to 
investigate  the  causes  of  complaint,  on  the  part  of  their  old 
friends,  the  Senecas.  The  result  was  a  very  able  report,  dated 
Nov.  1,  1840,  in  which  the  cause  of  the  Indians  is  advocated, 
with  great  force  and  clearness,  and  the  conduct  of  the  Ogden 
Company  exposed,  in  language  at  once  elegant  and  dignified, 
but  with  a  severity  which  only  the  most  obdurate  could  with- 
stand. This  report  was  published  in  pamphlet  form,  and  widely 
circulated.  Coming  from  high  legislative  authority,  it  com- 
manded attention  and  respect.  Lucid  in  its  statements,  and 
unanswerable  in  argument,  it  carried  conviction  wherever  it 
appeared. 

We  give  to  our  readers  the  concluding  part  of  the  report,  in 
the  belief  that  it  will  amply  compensate  for  the  time  and  atten- 
tion bestowed  in  its  perusal.  After  a  general  view  of  the  Avhole 
subject,  they  conclude  with  the  following  remarks : 

"  The  memorirlists  and  the  delegations  who  have  appeared 
before  the  Committee,  now  object  both  to  the  treaty  and  to  the 
alleged  conveyance,  for  the  following  reasons : 

"  1st, — They  say  there  are  91  lawful  chiefs  of  the  Seneca 
nation,  and  that  the  amended  treaty  and  the  deed,  whether 
signed  by  4 1  or  43,  have  not  been  assented  to  in  any  form  by 
a  majority  of  91,  viz.,  46  chiefs  and  headmen. 

"2d, — Of  those  whose  names  are  on  that  treaty  and  deed, 
the  Senecas  object  that  6  of  them  are  not  lawful  chiefs, — and 
that  at  least  eleven  of  their  chiefs  were  bribed  by  the  agents  of 
the  Ogden   Company, — that  the   contracts  of  bribery  are  in 


76 

writing,  and  they  exhibit  the  contracts,  by  which  it  appears 
that  at  least  8  chiefs,  (who  had  been  bribed  before  the  date  of 
the  deed  and  first  treaty,)  signed  the  deed  and  amended  treaty. 
If  this  be  true,  and  the  signatures  of  the  bribed  chiefs  be  re- 
jected, the  deed  and  amended  treaty  would  each  have  less  than 
a  majority  of  the  chiefs,  whether  their  whole  number  be  91,  or 
81,  or  76.  In  addition  to  these  cases,  other  instances  of  bribery 
are  alleged,  in  proof  of  which,  the  affidavits  of  the  persons 
bribed  are  exhibited.  On  this  point,  the  Senecas  also  urge  the 
declaration  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  who  said  in 
his  communication  to  the  Senate,  dated  January  13,  1840, — 
'That  improper  means  have  been  employed  to  obtain  the  assent 
of  the  Seneca  chiefs,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe ;  and  I 
have  not  been  able  to  satisfy  myself,  that  1  can,  consistently 
with  the  resolution  of*the  Senate  of  the  2d  March,  1839,  cause 
the  treaty  to  be  carried  into  effect,  with  regard  to  the  Seneca 

tribe.* 

"3d, — It  is  said  that  six  others  of  those  alleged  to  have 
sioned,  make  oath  that  they  never  signed  their  names  or  made 
their  marks  to  the  amended  treaty,  knowing  what  they  did  at 

the  time. 

"4th, — Only  16  signatures  to  the  amended  treaty  were  ob- 
tained in  open  Council ;  and  the  Senecas  declare  that  no  treaty 
with  them  can  be  valid,  unless  made  and  signed  in  open 
Council ; — that  the  resolution  of  the  Senate  required  their  as- 
sent to  the  amended  treaty,  to  be  given  in  open  Council ; — that 
this  intention  and  requisition  of  the  Senate,  is  express  as  to  the 
St.  Reo-is  Indians,  and  equally  clear  in  regard  to  the  Senecas ; 

that  only  16  Seneca  chiefs  having  so  assented,  the  treaty  has 

not  received  the  assent  of  the  Seneca  nation; — that  the  chiefs 
can  act,  (like  all  other  legislators,)  only,  in  Legislative  Coun- 
cil,— and  that  out  of  such  Council,  they  are  powerless.  To 
show  that  they  are  correct  in  these  opinions  and  conclusions, 
they  refer  to  the  letter  of  Mr.  Crawford  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
dated  29th  October,  1S38,  in  whicn  he  says,  *  Perhaps  too,  it 
was  intended  by  the  Senate,  that  they,'  (the  Senecas,)  'should 


77 

assent  in  Council.'  They  also  refer  to  Gov.  Everett's  opinion, 
viz. — "  The  treaty  making  power  is  granted  by  the  constitution, 
in  general  teams.  No  modification  of  its  exercise  in  reference 
to  Indian  tribes  are  recognized.  As  it  would  certainly  be  un- 
constitutional for  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  attempt 
to  treat  with  individual  members  of  any  foreign  State  or  Gov- 
ernment, (not  duly  authorised  to  represent  the  entire  body,j 
or  to  attempt  to  obtain  the  ratification  of  a  treaty,  by  means  of 
the  assent  of  the  individuals  of  the  Senate,  not  duly  assembled 
and  acting  as  such, — I  remain  of  opinion,  that  the  constitu- 
tionality of  attempting  to  obtain  the  assent  of  individual  Indian 
chiefs  to  the  amended  treaty,  in  the  manner  in  question,  is 
doubtful.'  The  Senecas  also  refer  to  the  message  of  the  Presi- 
dent to  the  Senate,  on  13th  January,  1840,  in  which  he  says, 
'the  provision  of  the  Resolution  of  the  Senate  of  11th  June, 
1838,  requiring  the  assent  of  each  of  said  tribes  to  the  amend- 
ed treaty  to  be  given  in  Council,  and  which  was  also  made  a 
condition  precedent  to  the  recommendation  to  me  oi  the  2d 
March.  1839,  to  carry  the  same  into  effect,  has  not  been  com- 
plied with,  as  it  respects  the  Seneca  tribe.'  They  also  refer  to 
the  same  opinion  as  expressed  by  the  Committee  on  Indian 
Affairs.  And  to  all  this  they  add,  that  both  the  treaty  and 
deed  falsely  purport  to  have  been  made  in  Council.  And  the 
Senecas,  and  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs, 
agree  in  the  declaration,  that  all  treaties  ever  made  with  the 
Indian  tribes,  have  been  made  in  open  Council,  or  by  delegates 
duly  authorized. 

"5th, — The  Senecas  contend,  that  the  amended  treaty  has 
not  received  the  requisite  assent  of  the  Senate,  viz :  two-thirds 
of  the  Senators  present  concurring, — but  was  assented  to  by  a 
majority  of  only  one. 

"6th, — That  the  deed  and  first  treaty  constituted  one  con- 
tract,  and  that  the  first  treaty  being  nugatory,  the  deed  thereby 
became  void,  and  must  remain  so  until  both  the  deed  and 
amended  treaty  shall  be  confirmed  and  assented  to  by  the  Se- 
neca nation,  in  a  fair  and  legal  manner.     The  Senecas  say  the 


78 

Ogden  Company  admitted  that  the  deed  required  confirmation 
after  the  Senate  amended  treaty,  as  shown  by  the  Ogden  Com- 
pany's offer  of  life-leases  to  all  those  who  should  prefer  not  to 
emigrate,  and  "  who  assent  to  the  treaty  to  the  lands  respec- 
tively held  and  occupied  by  them  as  farming  lands." 

"  7th, — That  the  deed  and  amended  treaty  are,  in  fact,  con- 
nected together,  and  are  to  be  considered  as  one  contract, — 
both  equally  needing  ratification  on  the  part  of  the  Seneca  na- 
tion ; — that  all  the  considerations  coming  to  the  Senecas,  are 
dependent  on  the  treaty  ; — that  the  10th  article  of  the  amended 
treaty  expressly  treats  the  deed  as  part  of  that  treaty,  and  as 
being  annexed  thereto'; — that  the  said  10th  article  would  not 
be  intelligible  without  the  deed ; — and  that  the  $202,000  pur- 
chase money  is  not  to  be  paid  to  the  Seneca  nation,  except  as 
provided  in  that  article'; — that  the  amended  treaty,  not  having 
received  the  assent  of  a  majority  of  their  chiefs  and  headmen 
in  council,  nor  the  constitutional  assent  of  the  Senate,  is  void, 
and  that  the  deed,  as  part  of  it,  is  also  void. 

"8th, — That  the  Senecas  also  refer  tea  part  of  the  above  cited 
resolution  of  the  Senate,  viz., — "if  one  or  more  of  said  tribes 
or  bands,  when  consulted  as  aforesaid,  (viz.,  in  general  coun- 
cil,) shall  freely  assent  to  said  treaty  as  amended,  and  to  their 
contract  connected  therewith,  it  shall  be  binding  and  obligatory 
upon  them  so  assenting."  Now  the  Senecas  say  the  only  con- 
tract here  referred  to,  is  the  said  deed  of  conveyance  to  Ogden 
and  Fellows ; — that  since  this  resolution  of  the  Senate,  the  Se- 
necas have  never  assented  to  that  deed  or  contract ;  and  that 
for  this  reason  also,  the  deed  is  void. 

"9th, — The  Senecas  also  contend,  that  the  deed  and  treaty, 
forming  but  one  contract  or  instrument,  both  of  them  required 
the  assent  of  Massachusetts. 

"  10th, — The  Senecas  also  say,  that  several  of  those  whose 
names  appear  on  these  instruments,  are  not  chiefs,  nor  entitled 
to  represent  their  nation. 

"These  are  the  principle  objections  urged  against  the  deed 
and  treaty, — and,  as  probably  three-fourths  of  the  whole  Seneca 


79 

nation  are  opposed  to  emigration,  and  to  the  sale  of  their  lands, 
these  objections  are  pressed  with  great  feeling  and  bitterness. 

'' Indeed,  we  have  no  doubt  that  very  "improper  means" 
have  been  used  to  obtain  the  assent  of  the  Senecas  to  the  deed 
and  treaty.  And  this  opinion  has  also  been  expressed  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States, — by  the  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Indian  Affairs, — and  by  the  Society  of  Friends. 
Neither  can  be  supposed  to  have  any  interest  to  mislead  their 
judgment, — and  each  has  had  every  opportunity  for  examining 
and  understanding  this  subject  thoroughly. 

If  the  governor  and  council  of  Massachusetts,  in  1839,  had 
known  all  ?that  had  occurred  in  this  unhappy  business,  even 
when  the  deed  was  presented  for  their  approbation,  we  are 
confident  they  would  not  have  approved  it.  But  they  did  not 
know  then  that  a  very  large  majority  of  the  Seneca  nation  was 
strongly  opposed  to  a  sale  of  their  lands,  nor  that  the  signatures 
of  several  of  their  chiefs  had  been  obtained  by  bribery.  Mr. 
Trowbrido-e  was  entrusted  with  the  duties  of  agent  of  this  com- 
monwealth  ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  he  ever  reported  to  this 
department  a  copy  of  the  treaty,  nor  any  information  of  its  pro- 
visions. Had  he  done  so,  or  had  this  department  known  the 
state  of  feeling  among  the  Senecas,  or  could  they  have  known 
that  a  treaty,  forming  an  essential  part  of  the  contract  for  the 
purchase  and  sale  of  the  lands,  had  been  made,  but  would  not 
be  ratified  by  the  United  States,  they  would  not  have  approved 
the  deed, — certainly  not  unconditionall3^  And  if  they  had 
known  the  provisions  of  the  treaty,  and  their  essential  connec- 
tion with  the  deed,  they  never  could  have  imagined  it  possible 
that  the  Ogden  Company  would  insist  on  the  sufficiency  of  the 
deed,  if  the  United  States  government  should  reject  the  treaty, 
or  if  the  treaty  should  be  found  not  to  have  received  the  assent 
of  the  Seneca  nation. 

With  all  the  information  we  possess  at  this  time,  Massachu- 
setts would  not  now  approve  that  deed. 

It  is  also  stated,  that  Congress  has  made  no  appropriation  for 
carrying  into  effect  this  treaty ;  and  it  may  well  refuse  to  do 


80 

so,  if  satisfied  that  the  deed  and  treaty  have  been  obtainen  by 
deception  practised  on  the  United  States,  on  this  common- 
wealth, and  on  the  Senecas.  Whichever  may  be  pursued,  we 
may  expect  that  those  who  represent  this  state,  the  duly  con- 
stituted friend  and  protector  of  the  Seneca  nation,  will  strenu- 
ously endeavor  to  cause  justice  to  be  done  to  them. 

The  Committee  will  give  no  opinion  whether  it  is  not  for 
the  interest  and  happiness  of  the  Senecas  to  abandon  their 
lands  and  improvements  in  New  York,  and  retire  to  the  west 
of  the  Mississippi.  A  very  large  majority  of  them  believe  it  is 
not  for  their  interest  and  happiness  to  do  so ;  and,  in  a  matter 
affecting  themselves  only,  they  should  be  permitted  to  decide 
for  themselves. 

By  order  of  the  Committee, 

JOHN  R.  AD  AN,    Chairman. 

Council  Chamber,  J^ov.  21,  1840." 

In  "  The  New  York  Review,  No.  xvii."  published  in  the 
7th  mo.  1831,  appeared  an  essay  pretending  to  be  a  review  of 
the  work  we  published  almost  one  year  before,  called  "  The 
case,  &c."  This  essay,  coming  as  we  had  no  doubt,  from  a 
distinguished  member  of  the  Ogden  Company,  was  in  fact  a 
very  bold,  but  very  weak  attempt,  to  justify  its  grossly  immoral 
conduct  toward  the  Seneca  Indians.  It  contained  admissions 
of  the  immorality  of  that  conduct,  so  coarse  and  disgusting,  that 
none  but  those  very  much  lost  to  a  sense  of  shame,  would  have 
exposed  them  to  public  view.  This  publication,  if  it  did  not 
call  for  an  answer,  it  opened  a  door  for  exhibiting  in  its  true 
colors,  the  dark  and  mischievous  spirit  that  actuated  that  Com- 
pany; and  induced  the  committee  to  publish  the  following 
notice  of  it,  at  the  end  of  our  little  work  called  "A  further 
illustration,  &c." 

"  Since  the  foregoing  pages  were  in  the  press,  '  The  New 
York  Review,  No.  XVII.,  July,  1841,'  has  made  its  appear- 
ance.    In  that  number,  article  9,  page  809,  &c.,  there  is  an 


81 

assay,  purporting  to  be  a  review  of  our  book,  entitled,  *'The 
case  of  the  Seneca  Indians  in  the  State  of  New  York,  illustra- 
ted by  facts." 

This  essay  is  a  labored  attempt,  not  to  disprove  the  truth  of 
our  statements, — not  to  show  that  in  attributing  bribery,  fraud, 
&c.  to  the  agents  and  principal  actors  in  getting  up  the  late 
Seneca  treaty,  we  were  mistaken, — but  to  justify  their  unprin- 
pled  conduct  in  the  face  of  a  "  Christian  community !"  "Drunk- 
enness, bribery,  rum  allowed,  personal  inducements  offered,  to 
persuade  individual  chiefs  to  sign"  the  treaty, — "  an  amount  of 
bribery  going  beyond  all  former  precedent,"  are  unblushingly 
admitted !  But  while  the  Reviewer  admits  the  facts,  he  thinks, 
or  at  least  asserts,  that  "  the  blame  should  lie  any  where  but  on 
the  pre-emption  party !" — any  where  but  on  the  most  guilty  ! 
In  his  opinion,  those  who  drank  the  "rum,"  and  accepted  the 
"presents,"  are,  in  this  case,  the  culprits!     His  doctrine  is,  ; 

that  the  "corrupt  principles  in  the  receiver,"  not  the  "illegal  1 

practice  in  the  giver,"  are  to  "blame;" — that  he  who  "cor- 
rupts by  gifts,"  is  to  be  deemed  innocent,  while  he  who  is  cor- 
rupted by  them,  is  to  be  made  the  "  scape-goat  to  bear  away  all 
the  sin!" 

"  By  the  laws  of  Athens,  the  offerer,  as  well  as  the  receiver 
of  a  bribe,  were  prosecuted."  In  England,  the  offence  of  taking 
a  bribe,  is  punished  with  fine  and  imprisonment,  and  the  of-  x 

fence  of  offering  a  bribe,  even  if  it  be  not  accepted,  receives  the  jf 

same  punishmenl.  (3  Ins.  147.)  In  elections,  he  that  offers  a 
bribe,  forfeits  £500.  Dr.  Rees  defines  a  bribe  to  be  "a  reward 
given  to  pervert  the  judgment,  or  corrupt  the  conduct." 

The  defence  of  bribery,  fraud,  and  artifice,  set  up  by  the  Re- 
viewer, will  hardly  avail  with  a  "  Christian  community,"  who 
are  taught  from  the  highest  authority,  that  it  is  the  ''wicked 
man  who  taketh  a  gift  out  of  his  bosom,  to  pervert  the  ways  of 
judgment,"  and  that  he  alone  is  justified  in  the  sight  of  heaven, 
who  "  despiseth  the  gain  of  oppression,  and  who  shakelh  his 
hands  from  holding  q/"  bribes."     It  is  much  to  be  regretted, 

that  any  public  writer,  especially  a  Reviewer,  whose  office 
11 


82 

ought  to  be,  to  explain  and  enforce  the  principles  of  morality, 
should  prostitute  that  office  to  pervert  them.  In  the  present 
instance,  however,  the  friends  of  justice  and  humanity  have 
cause  to  congratulate  each  other,  that  error  and  crime  have 
found  so  weak  an  advocate.  His  doctrines  are  calculated  more 
to  diso-ust  than  to  convince.  No  mind,  not  callous  to  all  sense 
of  moral  obligation,  can  entertain  them  for  a  moment.  They 
are  too  monstrous  to  do  much  harm.  Their  poison  and  its  an- 
tidote go  together. 

•  "Nam  ego  ilium  periisse  duco,  cui  quidam  periit  pudor." 

"  Wg  have  never  known,'"  says  the  Reviewer,  "an  Indian 
treaty  carried  without  drunkenness  and  bribery, — rum  allowed, 
and  personal  inducements  offered,  to  persuade  Indian  Chiefs  to 
sign  even  by  the  Quakers  themselves."  The  former  part  of  this 
sentence  may  be  true,  if  he  speaks  of  personal  knowledge, 
and  this  may  account  for  the  morbid  state  of  his  moral  feelings, 
which  permit  him,  publicly,  to  palliate  the  most  degrading 
vices,  and  to  hold  out  the  idea,  that  the  frequency  of  crime  re- 
moves the  offence  ! 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  sentence,  his  insinuation  against  the 
Quakers,  would  have  been  more  easily  answered,  if  he  had 
condescended  to  inform  us  whe7i  and  where  they  had  been 
guilty  of  such  depravity.  He  ought  to  know  that  with  the 
"  Christian  community,"  insinuation  will  not  pass  for  proof. 
We  suppose  it  is  founded  on  the  declaration  of  Senator  Lump- 
kin, in  his  speech  on  the  treaty  question,  when  he  asserted, 
that  ''  even  under  the  government  of  that  good  man,  William 
Penn,"  a  statute  was  passed,  allowing  his  commissioners  "to 
administer  a  prudent  portion  of  intoxicating  drink  to  the  In- 
dians, with  whom  they  wished  to  form  a  treaty." 

We  have  briefly  reviewed  and  refuted  this  assertion  of  the 
Senator,  in  the  work  to  which  this  is  appended.  See  pages  56, 
57.     We  will  here  add,  that  the  statute,  so  unjustly  charged  on 

•  I  regard  that  man  as  lost,  who  has  no  longer  any  sense  of  shame. 


83 

the  government  of  William  Penn,  was  not  made  until  four  or 
five  years  after  his  death.  It  was  passed,  not  by  a  Quaker,  but 
^' under  the  government"  of  Sir  William  Keith,  a  member 
of  the  church  of  England  ;  the  same  individual  that  Dr.  Frank- 
lin, in  his  autobiography,  has  condemned  to  lasting  and  unen- 
viable notoriety,  as  the  gratuitous  and  cruel  betrayer  of  his 
juvenile  confidence.  The  Quakers  are  not  accountable  for  any 
violation  of  their  principles,  during  the  administration  of  those 
governors  who  succeeded  William  Penn,  none  of  whom  were 
Quakers.  As  a  society,  Friends  had  no  control  over  the  govern- 
ment. Not  only  the  governors,  but  the  proprietors,  after  his 
decease,  were  opposed  to  the  principles  of  the  Quakers.  The 
history  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  private  letters  of  the  Penn 
family,  amply  prove  this  fact.  That  cause  must  be  essentially 
bad,  that  owes  its  support  to  vicious  example ! 

By  what  we  have  said  in  relation  to  the  Governors  oi  Penn- 
sylvania, after  Penn's  death,  we  do  not  mean  to  admit  that  any 
abuses,  under  the  aforesaid  "  statute,"  were  committed  upon 
the  Indians.  We  read  of  no  case  in  which  chiefs  were  solicited 
to  drink  ardent  spirits,  to  deprive  them  of  their  reason ;  and 
when  unconscious  of  their  own  actions,  made  to  sign  a  treaty. 
Such  refinement  of  wickedness  belono-s  to  an  asre  that  boasts 
of  greater  refinement  of  taste  and  manners,  than  prevailed  in 
the  days  of  Governor  Keith. 

The  doctrines  taught  by  the  learned  reviewer, — his  argu- 
ments— his  style — his  phraseology — his  peculiar  terms,  in  short 
all  the  characteristics  of  his  essay,  as  a  literary  production^ 
point  out  its  origin.  Its,  mis-statements  are  repetitions,  and  its 
bitterness  flows  from  an  old  and  well-known  fountain.  No  dis" 
interested,  candid  writer  could  be  its  author. 

Seventh  month  i6ih,  1841. 

Thus,  while  the  cause  of  the  Seneca  Indians  in  the  halls  of 
Congress,  seemed  hopeless,  and  indeed  utterly  lost,  it  wag 
rapidly  gaining  ground  with  the  people,  in  whom,  after  parting 
with  all  the  power  they   can  confer  on  their  representatives^ 


84 

there  is  often  found  enough  to  defeat  the  unrighteous  measures 
of  those  who  have  misrepresented  them.  Little  ground  had  the 
committee  for  hope,  when  they  found  that  the  Senate  and 
President  of  the  United  States,  (the  treaty-making  power  under 
the  Constitution,)  had  ratified  and  proclaimed  the  instrument 
called  the  "amended  treaty."  Yet,  by  the  influence  of  public 
sentiment,  acting  on  the  oppicssor  and  the  oppressed,  a  way 
was  soon  after  made,  where  no  way  had  appeared.  Public 
sentiment  acting  on  the  Indian,  strengthened  him  in  his  reso- 
lution, never  to  abandon  his  home,  at  the  mandate  of  arbitrary 
power^  and  public  sentiment,  acting  on  the  agents  of  the  Ogden 
Company,  made  them  feel  their  weakness,  when  arrayed 
against  the  mighty  force  of  popular  feeling,  on  the  side  of  the 
oppressed. 

At  this  period  of  the  concern,  the  committee,  struggling 
against  a  current  of  unfavorable  circumstances,  could  only  ad- 
vise the  Indians  to  be  quiet,  and  patiently  bear  the  injuries 
heaped  upon  them, — in  the  certain  assurance,  that  they  were 
under  the  protection  and  care  of  the  universal  shepherd, — 
the  witness  of  all  their  afflictions,  and  who,  in  his  own  time^ 
would  send  them  relief,  in  his  own  way.  Under  a  lively  sense 
of  the  wrongs  and  injustice  practiced  towards  them,  the  Indians 
had  now  determined  to  resist,  at  least  passively,  every  attempt 
to  dispossess  them  of  their  patrimonial  inheritance.  Some  of 
their  chiefs,  under  a  bitter  sense  of  their  injuries,  had  explicitly 
declared,  that  as  their  nation  had  taken  no  part,  as  such,  in  the 
alienation  of  their  reservations,  as  the  bribed  chiefs  had  acted 
as  individuals,  and  not  as  representatives  of  the  people, — and, 
as  aU  their  unauthorized  acts  had  been  duly  disavowed,  they 
would  die  on  their  lands,  by  the  violence  of  the  oppressor, 
rather  than  remove  at  his  bidding. 

The  difficulties  which  at  this  time  stood  in  the  way  of  any 
movement  on  the  part  of  Friends,  either  to  the  right  or  to  the 
left,  w^ere  of  a  formidable  character.  On  the  one  hand,  the  re- 
moval of  the  Indians  into  the  western  wilderness,  whether 
voluntarily  or  by  force,  appeared  to  their  friends,  to  involve 


85 

their   very  speedy   extermination.      The   Seneca    nation    had 
ceased  to  live  by  the  chase.     They  were  mostly   in  that  stage 
of  the  journey  between  barbarism  and   civilization,  in  which 
the  Indian  loses  those  habits  and  means  of  living,  which  sustain 
him  in  his  aboriginal  condition ;  and  has  not  acquired  the  arts 
and  the  energy  of  the  civilized  man,  which  serve  for  his  pro- 
tection and  safety  under  any  circumstances,  and  in   every  va- 
riety of  climate.     To  drive  such  a  body  of  Indians  into  a  wil- 
derness country,  would  be  more  destructive  than  it  would  be, 
suddenly  to  empty  one  of  our  large  Atlantic  cities  into  the  lap 
of  Oregon.     In  the  latter  case,  the  knowledge,  the  ingenuity, 
the  energy  of  the  white  man,  would  soon  draw  round  him  the 
necessaries  and  comforts  ot  life,  while  the  ignorance,  the  list- 
lessness,  and  the  habits  of  dependance  of  the  red  man,  would 
leave  him  a  certain  prey  to  want,  or  disease,  or  to  the  more 
savage  tribes  by  which  he  would  be  surrounded.     From  some 
experience  in  the  case  of  other  Indians,  formerly  under  the 
care  of  Friends,  and  which  were  so  removed,  we  had  no  doubts 
on  this  point.     We  knew,  as  forcibly  expressed  by  Governor 
Seward,  late  executive  of  the  state  of  New  York,  that  "it  is  a 
fearful  thing  to  uproot  a  whole  people, — and  send  them  regard- 
less of  their  own  views  of  their  rights,  interests,  and  welfare, — 
their  feelings  and  affections,  into  a  distant  and  desolate  region." 
On  the  other  hand,  the  friends  of  the  Indians  were  forced  to 
^ook  in  the  face,  the  appalling  fact,  that  by  the  late  action  of 
the  Federal  Government,  the  Ogden  Company  had  attained 
a  legal  right  to  the  four  Reservations  of  Tonewanda,  Buffalo, 
Cattaraugus,  and  Alleghany.     These  lands  were  now  vested 
in  that  Company  by  the  supreme  law  of  the  United  States. 
The  transfer  had  been  deliberately  consummated,  through  all 
the  forms,  required  by  the  compact,  between  the  states  of  Mas- 
sachusetts and  New  York,  and  by  the  constitution  and  laws  of 
the  union.     That  Company  being  legally  seized  of  them,  no 
powers  of  the  general  government,  or  of  the  state  of  New  York, 
could  authorize,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  any  coercive  ac- 
tion, by  which  the  Indians  might  be  restored  to  their  just  rights. 


86 

Such  were  the  conclusions  derived  by  Friends,   from  the 
hiofhest  lecral  authorities  in  the  United  States ;  from  true-hearted 

Do 

men  ; — warm,  faithful,  untiring  friends  of  the  Seneca  Indians; 
from  men  who  had  plead  their  cause,  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate 
and  House  of  Representatives,  with  disinterested  zeal  and  per- 
suasive eloquence ; — men  who  had  stood  by  Friends  in  all  their 
trials  and  difficulties,  and  who  would  never  abandon  them 
while  there  was  a  ground  of  hope. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  was  painfully  evident,  that 
there  was  no  prospect  of  restoring  to  the  Indians  any  portion  of 
their  territory,  except  by  some  agreement,  to  which  the  Ogden 
Company  should  become  a  party.  In  the  mean  time  that 
Company  perceived,  that  very  formidable  difficulties  already 
lay  in  their  way.  They  plainly  saw  that  the  opposition  which 
they  would  have  to  encounter,  might  cost  them  vast  sums  of 
money,  and  long  postpone  the  period  when  ihey  could  come 
into  the  possession  of  the  four  Reservations.  They  knew  that 
the  white  population  in  their  vicinity,  had  become  generally 
acquainted  with  the  means  that  had  been  employed  to  fasten 
this  treaty  upon  the  Senecas,  and  were  generally  hostile  to  the 
Company,  and  would  actively  aid  and  abet  those  Indians  in  all 
their  attempts  to  keep  their  lands. 

The  friends  of  the  Indians,  with  concern  perceived,  that  if 
the  government,  in  order  to  carry  out  its  policy  of  removing 
them  to  the  west,  should  attempt  their  expulsion  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet,  scenes  must  ensue  which  could  not  be  contem- 
plated without  horror.  And,  they  as  clearly  saw,  that  if  no 
such  expulsion  should  be  attempted,  and  no  other  measures 
of  a  forcible  character  should  be  adopted,  still  the  uncertain  na- 
ture of  their  possession,  must  keep  them  forever  unsettled,  and 
wholly  prevent  their  civilization  and  improvement.  Both  par- 
ties were  surrounded  by  difficulties  and  discouragements ,  and 
each  party,  without  the  knowledge  of  the  other,  was  secretly 
desiring  some  compromise  of  their  respective  claims. 

Such  was  the  state  of  our  concern,  when,  after  mature  con- 
sideration, the  Committee  concluded  to  open  a  correspondence 


87 

with  the  agents  of  the  Ogden  Land  Company,  with  a  view  to 
ascertain,  whether  any  arrangements  could  be  made,  which  the 
Indians  and  their  friends  could  approve,  and  by  which  this 
remnant  of  the  once  numerous  and  powerful  Seneca  nation, 
might  be  saved  from  destruction.  A  delegation  from  the  joint 
committees  proceeded  to  Washington,  in  order  to  explain  our 
wishes  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  who  is,  ex  officio,  the  head  of 
the  Indian  Bureau.  The  active  and  talented  officer  then  in 
the  department,  was  a  citizen  of  New  York,  well  acquainted 
with  the  character  and  circumstances  of  the  Indians  in  that 
state,  and  withal,  their  warm  and  disinterested  friend.  Our 
application  for  his  advice  and  assistance  in  the  case  was  kindly 
received.  He  entered  into  the  concern  with  much  interest, 
and,  though  greatly  occupied  with  the  numerous  weighty 
affairs  of  his  office,  he  devoted  to  our  cause,  his  time,  his  talents, 
and  his  experience,  with  a  promptitude  and  benevolence,  which 
was  gratefully  felt  at  the  time,  and  can  never  be  forgot.  Under 
a  deep  feeling  of  our  responsibility,  as  the  representatives  ol 
the  Society  of  Friends,  and  as  guardians  of  a  people,  then 
whoUy  dependant  on  that  Society  for  protection,  we  were 
prepared  to  appreciate  the  value  of  his  services,  and  most  sen- 
sibly to  feel  our  obligations  for  his  kindness. 

By  a  letter  from  John  C.  Spencer,  the  then  Secretary  of  War, 
to  Thomas  L.  Ogden,  one  of  the  principal  agents  of  the  Ogden 
Land  Company,  the  parties  were  brought  together.  In  the 
course  of  the  negociation  many  difficulties  arose,  which  threat- 
ened to  break  up  the  conference,  and  required  much  time  and 
reflection,  and  labor,  to  reconcile  or  remove.  At  length  pre- 
liminaries were  settled,  and  under  the  special  supervision  of 
the  Secretary,  a  treaty  was  drawn  out,  in  order  to  be  submitted 
to  the  Indians,  at  a  Council  of  the  whole  nation,  to  be  convened 
especially  for  the  purpose. 

The  following  synopsis  of  the  treaty,  the  provisions  of  which 
had  been  arranged  as  aforesaid,  will  give  the  result  of  our 
exertions  to  serve  the  Indians,  and,  as  far  as  was  in  our  power^ 
to  prevent  their  speedy  extermination. 


88 

Synopsis  of  the  Supplemental  Treaty,  1842. 

Art.  1st,  Provides  that  the  Ogden  Company  shall  restore 
and  convey  to  the  Senecas  the  two  reservations  of  Cattaraugus 
and  Allegany  with  the  same  title  to  them  in  all  things,  as  they 
held  them  by,  before  the  execution  of  the  treaty  of  1838,  re- 
serving the  right  to  purchase  the  same,  when  the  Senecas  may 
incline  to  sell  them. 

Art.  2d,  Provides  that  the  Seneca  nation  agrees  that  the 
Ogden  Company  shall  retain  the  two  reservations  of  Tonawanda 
and  Buffalo,  according  to  the  amended  treaty  of  1840. 

Art.  3d,  Provides  that  these  two  reservations  shall  be  paid 
for  in  proportion  to  the  relative  value  of  the  lands  within  all 
the  four  reservations. 

Art.  4th,  Provides  that  this  valuation  shall  be  adjusted  by 
arbitrators,  one  of  whom  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Secretary 
of  War,  and  the  other  by  the  Ogden  Land  Company.  The 
umpire,  a  third  arbitrator  to  be  appointed  by  the  other  two. 
The  said  valuation  to  be  made  as  agreed  upon  in  the  former 
treaty,  both  as  to  the  lands  and  improvements. 

Art.  5th,  Provides  that  the  forest,  or  unimproved  lands,  on 
the  Tonawanda  and  Buffalo  reservations  shall  be  surrendered 
to  the  Ogden  Land  Company,  in  one  month  after  the  award  ot 
the  arbitrators,  shall  be  filed  in  the  Office  of  the  Secretary  of 
War.  And  it  also  provides,  that  the  improved  lands  shall  be 
sun*endered  within  two  years  from  the  filing  the  said  award  as 
aforesaid,  when  the  value  of  the  improvements  shall  be  paid  to 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  to  be  distributed  among  the 
owners  thereof. 

Art.  6th,  Provides  that  such  of  the  Seneca  nation  as  may 
desire  to  emigrate  from  the  State  of  New  York,  shall  be  enti- 
tled, in  proportion  to  their  relative  numbers,  to  the  funds  and 
annuities  of  the  nation,  and  that,  should  the  said  nation  remain- 
ing in  the  State  of  New  York,  hereafter  sell  these  two  reserva- 
tions, the  emigrating  Indians  shall,  in  like  manner,  be  entitled 
to  their  share  in  the  proceeds  thereof. 

Art.  7th,  Provides  that  the  treaty  of  1838  is  annulled,  so 


89 

far  as  the  same  is  inconsistent  with  the  provisions  of  the  pre- 
sent treaty. 

Art.  8th,  Provides  that  the  expenses  attending  the  execu- 
tion of  this  treaty,  shall  be  paid  by  the  Ogden  Land  Company. 

Art.  9th,  Stipulates  that  the  parties  to  this  treaty  will  so- 
licit the  influence  of  the  United  States,  to  protect  from  taxes 
the  lands  of  the  Seneca  nation,  while  they  continue  to  own 
and  occupy  the  same. 

Emigrants  from  the  Cattaraugus  and  Allegany  Reservations, 
are  to  receive  pay  for  their  improvements  when  they  shall 
choose  to  emigrate,  out  of  any  funds  belonging  to  the  Seneca 
nation,  in  the  hands  of  the  General  Government, — the  property 
so  improved  to  become  the  property  of  the  nation. 

The  next  concern  of  the  Joint  Committee,  was  to  prepare 
for  meeting  a  council  of  the  Seneca  nation,  for  the  purpose  of 
laying  before  it,  the  treaty,  the  outline  of  which  had  been  ar- 
ranged, as  before  related.  As  soon  as  the  season  of  the  year, 
and  other  circumstances,  would  permit,  a  joint  delegation  from 
the  four  Ye arly'mee tings  of  Genessee,JNew  York,  Philadelphia, 
and  Baltimore,  proceeded  to  Buffalo,  and,  according  to  previous 
arrangement,  met  the  chiefs  in  council,  on  the  9th  of  the 
Fourth  month,  1842.  After  opening  the  meeting  in  due  form, 
the  following  communication,  previously  prepared  by  the  Joint 
Committee,  was  read  and  interpreted  to  them. 

To  the  Seneca  JVation  of  Indians,  in  the  State  of  J^ew  York. 

Brothers  !  It  is  now  about  three  years  since  your  friends 
of  the  Yearly  Meetings  of  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Balti- 
more, were  informed  of  the  difficulties  in  which  you  were  in- 
volved with  the  Ogden  Land  Company.  In  the  Eighth  month, 
called  August,  in  the  year  1839,  a  large  Committee  of  Friends 
came  to  see  you,  in  order  to  inquire  more  fully  into  the 
causes  of  your  trouble.  We  then  learned  that  a  treaty,  dated 
January  15th,  1838,  had  been  executed  by  a  number  of  your 
chiefs,    in   which   it  was   agreed,    that   the   Seneca  Indians, 

should,    within   five   years,   give   up   all  their  lands   in   the 
12 


90 

state  of  New  York,  and  settle  in  the  country  beyond  the 
state  of  Missouri.  To  this  treaty  the  names  of  forty-five 
chiefs  were  attached.  We  also  learned  that  a  Deed  of  the 
same  date,  conveying  to  the  Ogden  Land  Company,  the  four 
reservations  of  Tonewanda,  Buffalo,  Cattaraugus^  and  Allegany, 
had  been  executed,  and  that  the  nam^es  of  forty-three  of  your 
chiefs  appeared  on  that  deed. 

Brothers  !  When  we  visited  you  at  that  time,  we  also 
learned  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  had  not  rati- 
fied that  treaty,  and  that  the  Senate  had  made  another,  which 
was  called  "  The  Amended  Treaty."  This  treaty  was,  by  or- 
der of  the  Senate,  to  be  explained  to  the  Indians  in  council, 
and  then  submitted  to  them  for  their  signatures.  This  was 
done  ; — but,  as  you  have  assured  us,  was  neither  approved  nor 
signed  by  a  majority  of  your  chiefs. 

Brothers  !  When  your  friends  heard  these  things,  their 
hearts  were  made  sad.  They  believed  that  what  you  told 
them  was  true,  and  that  you  had  been  grievously  wronged. 
Under  this  conviction,  relying  on  the  justice  of  your  cause,  and 
the  good  faith  of  the  Government,  they  appealed  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  and  to  the  National  Legislature,  in 
both  houses  of  Congress,  on  your  behalf.  Documents  shew- 
ing the  manner  in  which  "the  Amended  Treaty"  had  been 
executed,  and  fully  illustrating  your  case,  as  it  was  represented 
to  us  by  yourselves,  were  laid  before  the  President  and  the  other 
branches,  of  the  Government.  Yet,  notwithstanding  all  our 
exertions,  and  the  faithful  labors  of  your  friends  in  the  Senate, 
the  treaty  was  ratified  and  proclaimed,  by  the  then  President, 
as  the  law  of  the  land. 

Brothers  !  Ever  since  that  time  we  have  labored  faith- 
fully to  obtain  a  revision  of  that  treaty,  by  the  constituted  au- 
thorities of  our  country.  We  have  printed  Books  to  spread 
the  knowledge  of  your  wrongs.  We  have  been  many  times  at 
Washington  to  plead  your  cause.  We  have  solicited  the  aid 
of  the  Governments  of  New  York  and  Massachusetts.  We 
have  spared  no  labor,  no  expense,  no  exertion  to  obtain  relief 
for  our  Eed  brethren. 


91 

Brothers  !  We  are  sorry  to  have  to  say  to  you  that  the 
difficulties  and  obstructions,  which  lay  in  our  path,  were  so 
many  and  so  great,  that  we  could  neither  walk  over  them,  nor 
remove  them,  out  of  the  way.  As  soon  as  the  treaty  was  rati- 
fied and  proclaimed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  it 
became  the  supreme  law  of  the  land ;  and  the  Deed,  which 
had  been  signed  by  a  number  of  your  chiefs,  vested  certain 
legal  rights  in  the  Ogden  Land  Company,  which,  we  have 
been  told  by  men  learned  in  the  law,  could  not  afterwards  be 
taken  from  them  by  any  Legislative  action  on  the  part  of  the 
Government. 

Brothers  !  Under  these  circumstances  w€  looked  round 
on  every  side,  and  saw  no  certain  way  for  the  relief  and  pre- 
servation of  your  people,  unless  a  compromise  could  be  made 
between  all  the  parties  to  that  treaty,  by  which  each  of  them 
should  concede  and  give  up  something  for  the  peace  and  har- 
mony of  the  whole. 

Brothers  !  It  was  thought  by  some  who  were  friendly  to 
your  cause;  that  you  might  finally  obtain  justice  by  an  appeal 
to  the  Courts  of  Law.  This  subject  has  been  seriously  and 
anxiously  considered  by  us ; — but  when  we  took  into  view  the 
heavy  expenses  of  such  an  undertaking — the  great  length  of 
time  it  might  require  to  bring  it  to  an  issue — -the  unhappy 
effects  of  hostile  proceedings  upon  all  parties,  and  the  un- 
settling and  ruinous  consequences  of  a  tedious  law-suit  upon 
yourselves,  we  could  not  recommend  that  course  to  our  Red 
brethren. 

Brothers  !  After  we  had  suffered  much  anxiety  and  trou- 
ble on  your  account,  and  the  hope  of  obtaining  any  relief  for 
you  had  begun  to  fail  us,  a  way  was  opened  for  an  accommo- 
dation, and  settlement  of  all  the  difficulties,  between  the  seve- 
ral parties  to  the  present  controversy.  At  a  council  held  at 
Washington,  on  the  28th  day  of  the  First  month,  in  the  pre- 
sent year,  between  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  Agents  of  the 
Ogden  Land  Company,  and  a  delegation  of  Friends  on  behalf 
of  the  four  Yearly  Meetings  of  Genessee,  New  York,  Philadel- 


92 

phia,  and  Baltimore,  a  plan  of  accommodation  was  proposed, 
and  it  was  agreed  to  put  it  into  the  form  of  a  treaty  for  your 
consideration.  This  was  done ;  it  was  carefully  considered, 
and  will  now  be  laid  before  you. 

Brothers  !  By  this  arrangement  you  may,  if  you  please, 
continue  to  dwell  on  a  part  of  the  land  which  the  Great  Spirit 
gave  to  your  forefathers.  The  two  reservations  of  Cattarau- 
gus and  Allegany  will  be  restored  to  you,  and  will  remain 
yours  forever,  or  until  you  may  choose  to  part  with  them. — 
For  the  two  reservations  of  Tonewanda  and  Buffalo  you  will 
receive  a  price  proportionate  to  the  whole  sum  mentioned  in 
the  Deed  before  mentioned,  dated  January  15th,  1838,  signed 
by  many  of  your  chiefs:  and  you  will  be  paid  for  the  improve- 
ments upon  them  at  the  same  rate  as  agreed  upon  by  those 
who  executed  the  treaty  of  that  date.  Under  this  arrangement 
also,  such  of  your  people  as  may  choose  to  remain  in  the  state 
of  New  York,  will  have  land  sufficient  for  their  accommoda- 
tion and  subsistence,  where  they  may  enjoy  the  advantages  to 
be  derived  from  a  surrounding  population,  skilled  in  agricul- 
ture and  the  arts  of  civilized  life  ;  while  such  of  them  who  may 
prefer  a  situation  in  the  country  beyond  the  river  Mississippi, 
will  be  left  at  liberty  to  emigrate  to  that  place,  and  take  w^th 
them  their  share  of  the  moneys  and  annuities  of  the  nation  * 
and  moreover  they  will  be  entitled  to  their  portion  of  the  lands, 
as  well  as  to  all  the  other  advantages,  secured  to  them  by  the 
treaty,  which  has  already  been  ratified.  If  then  there  be  two 
parties  among  you,  the  one  an  emigration  party,  and  the  other 
a  domestic  or  non-emigration  party,  both  may  be  accommoda- 
ted under  the  proposed  arrangement. 

Brothers  !  It  is  well  known  to  you,  that  by  your  proxi- 
mity to  the  city  of  Buffalo,  your  people  are  exposed  to  the 
pernicious  examples  and  contaminating  influences  of  wicked 
men,  by  which  many  of  you  have  been  corrupted,  and  others 
much  injured.  Should  you  accept  the  proposed  treaty,  such  of 
you  as  may  remain  on  your  New  York  lands,  will  be  further 
removed  from  a  situation,  which  has  already  been  to  you  a 
source  of  much  injury. 


93 

Brothers  !     If  it  should  appear  to  you  proper  to  reject  the 
present  propositions,  you  will  stand  just  as  you  stood  before 
this  attempt  to  effect  a  compromise  was  made.     The  Amended 
Treaty  provides  for  the  relinquishment  of  all  your  lands  in  the 
state  of  New  York ;  and  at  the   same   time  requires  your  re- 
moval to  the   country  beyond  the   state  of  Missouri.     "The 
Supplemental  Treaty"  or  compromise  now  proposed,  leaves  all 
of  you  at  liberty ; — such  as  choose  to  go  may  go,  and  take  their 
shares  of  the  moneys   and  annuities  of  the  nation  ; — such  as 
choose  to  stay  may  stay   and   enjoy   all  the  advantages  of  a 
country  already  civilized  and  improved.     We  desire  that  you 
may  seriously  consider  the  proposition  now  before  you.     On 
your  decision  at  this  time,  much  of  your  future  welfare  de- 
pends.    You  must  judge  for  yourselves.     Your  friends  have 
come  here  to  lay  the  contract  before  you,  and  to  explain  its 
provisions ;  they  have  not  come  to  dictate  any  thing  to  you, 
nor  to  direct  you  in  your  choice. 

Brothers  !  We  have  done  for  you  every  thing  that  it  was 
in  our  power  to  do.  For  more  than  two  years  we  have 
^bored  faithfully  in  your  cause.  You  will  now  know  the  re- 
sult of  all  our  exertions  in  your  behalf;  and  on  this  solemn  oc- 
casion we  feel  concerned  to  say  a  few  more  words  to  you 
before  we  part.  To  those  who  may  emigrate,  and  to  those 
who  may  remain — or  whether  you  all  remain  or  all  go  away, 
our  communication  will  be  equally  applicable  to  you. 

Brothers  Listen  !  You  know  that  the  white  men  have 
a  written  lano-uasie.  Bv  this  means  w^e  can  look  backward, 
and  see  clearly  over  the  long  path  in  which  the  red  men  and 
the  white  men  have  been  walking,  now  more  than  two  hundred 
years.  We  have  seen  that  from  the  day  when  the  white  men 
first  set  their  feet  on  your  land,  they  have  been  increasing,  and 
the  red  men  have  been  decreasing.  The  white  men^  are  now 
very  numerous  and  powerful — the  red  men  are  few  in  number 
and  very  feeble.  Some  of  their  nations  are  entirely  extinct — 
their  council-fires  are  gone  out  forever.  Others  have  been 
greatly  reduced — and  the  little  remnants  yet  living,  are  poor, 


94 

and  weak,  and  scattered  abroad — some  in  one  place  and  some 
in  another.    From  the  great  water  which  lies  towards  the  rising 
sun,  to  the  great  Mississippi,  the  father  of  rivers,  a  distance  of 
almost  one  thousand  miles,  they  have  nearly  all  disappeared. 

Brothers  !  We  have  thought  much  of  these  things,  and 
we  believe  that  many  of  our  red  brothers  have  thought  of  them 
also.  And  now  we  feel  it  to  be  our  solemn  duty  to  open  our 
minds  to  you.  When  great  evils  fall  upon  individuals,  or  na- 
tions, the  wise  men  among  them  try  to  find  out  the  cause  ,  and 
when  they  have  found  it,  they  endeavor,  by  the  aid  of  the 
Great  Spirit,  to  remove  it  out  of  the  way.  This  is  a  duty  as 
binding  upon  the  red  men  as  upon  the  white  men. 

Brothers  !  We  all  know  that  war,  and  strong  liquors, 
and  the  small  pox,  as  well  as  other  contagious  diseases,  have 
destroyed  many  of  the  Indians,  and  greatly  reduced  their  num- 
bers ; — but  when  there  are  no  wars,  and  no  contagious  diseases 
among  them,  they  still  continue  to  decrease.  We  think  that 
the  use  of  strong  liquors  and  the  indolent  mode  of  life,  yet  fol- 
lowed by  many  of  your  people,  are  the  principal  causes  of  this 
decrease.  • 

Brothers  !  We  have  heard,  with  much  pleasure,  that  on 
some  of  your  Reservations,  you  have  made  great  exertions  to 
prevent  the  introduction  and  use  of  strong  liquors  among  you. 
If  you  should  succeed  in  your  efforts,  wholly  to  keep  out  this 
destructive  drink,  one  fruitful  cause  of  your  misery  and  decrease 
will  be  removed. 

Brothers!  The  Great  Spirit,  when  he  first  made  man,  in- 
tended that  he  should  labour.  Moderate  labour  is  good  for 
his  body  and  for  his  mind.  It  makes  him  strong  and  healthful. 
By  industry  and  diligence  he  is  enabled  to  have  a  warm  house, 
good  clothing — plenty  of  wholesome  food,  and  all  the  comforts 
of  life  in  abundance.  By  these  means  also  he  is  enabled  to 
improve  his  mind  by  useful  learning,  and  to  give  his  children 
a  good  education.  Thus  one  generation  after  another  have  the 
means  of  growing  wiser  and  better ;  and  we  believe  that  under 
such  circumstances,  nations  always  increase  in  numbers  and 
become  strong. 


95 

Brothers  !  You  know  that  under  the  circumstances  in 
which  you  are  now  placed,  surrounded  by  a  white  population, 
the  white  men,  by  their  intelligence,  are  constantly  taking  ad- 
vantages of  you  ; — which  we  believe  will  always  be  the  case, 
until  you  are  prepared,  by  a  better  education,  and  a  more  gen- 
eral acquaintance  with  the  habits  and  customs  of  civilized  life, 
to  guard  yourselves  against  them.  We  believe  it  essential  to 
your  prosperity,  that  you  adopt  a  mode  of  living  suited  to  your 
present  condition.  You  can  no  longer  live  by  the  chase — 
you  must  either  become  cultivators  of  the  earth,  or  cease  to 
exist  as  a  people.  We  understand  that  it  is  the  will  of  the 
Great  Spirit  that  man  should  till  the  ground,  for  without  tillage 
it  will  not  produce  bread.  Where  this  will  is  obeyed,  there 
we  generally  see  a  prosperous  and  happy  people.  Where  it  is 
neglected,  vice  and  misery,  and  want,  and  destruction  come 
upon  the  nation. 

Brothers  !  Some  of  you  know  that  your  friends,  the 
Quakers,  ever  since  they  had  settlements  among  you,  at  Alle- 
gany and  Cattaraugus,  now  more  than  forty  years,  have  preach- 
ed to  you  this  doctrine.  They  laboured  to  persuade  your 
people  to  become  Farmers ;  and  bring  up  your  children  to 
agriculture,  and  to  learn  trades.  They  saw  as  plainly,  as  we 
see  now,  that  this  was  the  only  way  to  preserve  the  Indian 
tribes  from  extinction. 

Brothers  !  As  our  fathers  preached  to  the  Indians  this 
doctrine  more  than  forty  years  ago,  so  we  now  hold  forth  to 
you  the  same  doctrine.  We  will  not  deceive  you.  We  wiU 
open  our  hearts  to  you  freely  and  plainly.  We  will  tell  you 
the  truth.  You  did  not  take  their  advice  then,  and  since  that 
time  your  nation  has  been  growing  weaker  and  weaker.  But 
we  believe  it  is  not  yet  too  late  to  reform.  If  you  will  take  our 
advice  now — if  you  will  bring  up  your  sons  to  agriculture  and 
the  arts — if  you  will  withdraw  your  women  from  the  labours 
and  drudgery  of  the  field — if  you  will  have  your  daughters 
taught  to  spin,  and  to  sew,  and  to  knit ;  as  well  as  to  practice 
the  other  useful  branches  of  housewifery — if  you   will   set 


96 

your  children  an  example  of  sobriety  and  the  other  virtues, 
then  will  your  nation  grow  and  increase,  and  become  strong. 
But  if  you  will  not  follow  this  advice,  nothing  your  friends 
have  done,  or  can  do,  for  you,  will  save  you  from  extinction. 
And  the  day  is  not  very  distant  when,  like  the  snow  under  a 
warm  sun,  your  race  will  melt  away  and  be  seen  of  men  no 
more. 

SioTied.  on  behalf  of  the  ioint  Committee  on  Indian  affairs, 
of  the  four  Yearly  Meetings  of  Friends  of  Genessee,  New  York, 
Philadelphia  and  Baltimore. 

Buffalo,  4th  mo.  9th,  1842. 

G.  M.  COOPER  >  r^„^,,^^ 

WM.  S.  BURLING,     I  ^^nessee. 

N.  STARBUCK,  ) 

JOHN  LEGGETT,       }  New  York. 

S.  J.  UNDERHILL,    ) 

BENJAMIN  FERRIS, 

JOSEPH  WARNER,    }  Philadelphia. 

JOHN  JACKSON, 


MOSES    SHEPPARD,  >  ^  ... 
PHILIP  E.  THOMAS,  ]  ^^^^^"^o^®- 


In  the  course  of  the  discussions  which  succeeded  the  fore- 
going speech,  Israel  Jemison,  one  of  the  chiefs,  said  he  wished 
particularly  to  know,  if  the  Ogden  Company  really  had  acquired 
vested  rights  under  the  supplementary  treaty,  and  ichat  consid- 
erations had  led  that  Company  to  accede  to  this  compromise 
arrangement. 

To  which  a  member  of  the  committee  replied: — We  will 
endeavor,  in  a  few  words,  to  inform  the  Council  of  the  circum- 
stances which  led  to  the  compromise  now  proposed. 

When  this  subject  was  first  brought  to  our  knowledge,  the 
amended  treaty,  together  with  a  deed  of  conveyance,  by  which 
the  Senecas  had  alienated  the  four  several  reservations  of  Tone- 
wanda,  Buffalo,  Cattaraugus  and  Allegany,  had  been  executed. 
It  was  alledged  by  you,  that  very  corrupt  means  had  been  em- 


97 

ployed  in  procuring  this  deed  and  treaty ;  and  in  your  then  dis- 
tressed situation,  you  solicited  our  aid. 

The  committees  of  the  four  Yearly  Meetings,  after  taking  the 
whole  subject  into  consideration,  and  endeavoring  to  ascertain 
the  best  course  for  them  to  pursue,  under  the  circumstances  in 
which  they  found  you  placed,  waited  on  the  then  President  of 
the  United  States,  in  whose  hands  the  treaty  at  that  time  v/as, 
and  requested  him  to  return  it  back  to  the  Senate,  in  order  that 
this  body  might  have  an  opportunity  to  reconsider  it.  At  the 
same  time,  they  petitioned  the  Senate  not  to  ratify  it,  and  they 
also  laid  before  both  the  President  and  Senate,  all  the  evi- 
dences that  had  been  furnished  by  you,  of  the  improper  means 
employed  to  procure  the  treaty. 

Notwithstanding  all  these  representations,  the  treaty  was 
finally  ratified  by  the  Senate,  and  subsequently  it  was  formally 
proclaimed  by  the  President. 

Finding  that  nothing  could  be  gained  for  the  relief  of  the 
Indians,  by  appeals  to  the  President  or  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  the  committee  petitioned  Congress  not  to  furnish  money 
to  carry  it  into  execution. — This,  however,  they  were  aware, 
could  only  produce  a  temporary  suspension  of  the  treaty,  be- 
cause it  was  foreseen  that,  in  the  end.  Congress  would  grant 
the  money,  and  the  treaty  be  carried  into  effect. 

As  soon  as  your  friends  discovered  that  there  was  but  little 
hope  of  defeating  the  treaty,  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  they  began  to  consider  whether  an  appeal  to  the  courts 
of  law,  on  behalf  of  the  Indians,  might  not  be  made.  After  ob- 
taining the  best  advice  they  could  procure,  in  relation  to  this 
subject,  they  perceived  that  this  would  not  be  a  discreet  mea- 
sure, and  should  not  be  resorted  to,  but  in  the  last  extremity. 
It  was  certain  that  if  adopted,  it  would  consume  a  great  length 
of  time,  and  involve  a  large  sum  of  money — while  there  was 
scarcely  a  hope  that,  in  the  end,  it  would  result  in  any  advan- 
tage whatever  to  the  Indians. 

When  they  had  arrived  at  this  point,  they  began  to  despair 

of  effecting  any  thing  for  your  benefit,  unless  the  Ogden  Com- 
13 


98 

pany  could  be  induced  to  enter  into  a  compromise  ;  and  they 
determined  to  make  an  eflfort  to  effect  the  best  arrangement 
they  could  in  that  way. 

They  saw  that  the  treaty,  as  it  now  stood,  however  it  might 
have  been  procured,  had  become  the  fixed  law  of  the  land — 
that  the  Ogden  Company  had  acquired  certain  rights  under  it, 
which  could  not  be  taken  from  them  by  any  legislation.  That 
the  treaty,  having  all  the  constitutional  forms  necessary  to 
make  it  valid,  would  be  so  considered  by  the  courts  of  the 
United  States,  and  would  be  carried  into  effect. 

Considering  that  by  the  conditions  of  this  treaty,  the  whole 
of  the  lands  in  your  former  reservations,  had  been  ceded  by  the 
Indians ;  and  that  W'ithin  five  years  you  would  be  driven  from 
your  homes,  into  a  far  distant  wilderness — the  committee  were 
most  anxious  that  this  great  calamity  might  be  averted ;  and 
after  considering  the  matter  very  maturely,  they  concluded  to 
open  a  correspondence  wdth  the  Ogden  Company.  When  the 
proposition  for  a  compromise  was  first  made  to  the  agents  of 
that  Company,  they  promptly  rejected  it,  and  avowed  that  they 
did  not  want  any  compromise — that  they  had  bought  the 
lands  and  w^ould  take  possession  of  them  :  consequently  the 
first  interview  with  them  terminated  without  any  prospect  of 
success; 

An  appeal  was  then  made  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  by 
his  interposition  a  second  interview,  with  an  agent  of  the  Com- 
pany, took  place  in  the  War  Office,  at  Washington,  at  which 
the  Secretary  was  present,  and  from  that  time  he  effectively 
lent  his  aid  to  assist  your  friends  in  carrying  out  the  proposed 
measure. 

The  Ogden  Company  perceiving  that  not  only  the  w^hole 
influence  of  the  Society  of  Friends  would  be  exerted  against 
them,  but  also  that  we  should  have  the  assistance  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, now  listened  to  our  overtures,  and  several  interviews 
took  place  afterwards  with  the  agents  of  that  Company.  After 
a  great  deal  of  labor  and  perseverance,  the  negotiations  with 


99 

them  resulted  in  the  procuring  lor  you  the  return  of  the  two 
reservations  as  now  proposed  by  this  treaty. 

We  informed  you  when  we  came  here,  that  it  was  our  inten- 
tion to  open  our  hearts  to  you  freely.  We  will  not  conceal 
an}^  thing  from  you.  We  therefore  tell  you  plainly,  that  we 
have,  after  encountering  many  difficulties,  and  expended  much 
time  and  labor,  obtained  for  you  the  most  favorable  terms  in 
our  power.  The  Ogden  Company  have  with  difficulty  been 
brought  to  agree  to  the  terms  of  this  treaty ;  and  it  is  our 
opinion,  which  we  desire  you  distinctly  to  understand,  that  if 
the  present  terms  are  rejected,  you  will  never  be  able  to  obtain 
as  favorable  ones  hereafter. 

There  are  among  you  wise  and  judicious  men,  who  understand 
your  interests,  and  are  capable  of  deciding  what  will  best  pro- 
mote the  happiness  and  welfare  of  your  nation.  The  question 
at  issue,  is  now  plainly  before  you.  It  is,  will  you  prefer  to 
occupy  two  of  your  reservations  as  now  proposed,  or  will  you 
relinquish  the  whole,  according  to  the  stipulations  of  the 
amended  treaty,  and  remove  to  a  distant  wilderness. 

We  repeat  that  it  is  not  our  purpose  to  dictate  to  you  what 
course  you  shall  pursue.  The  object  of  our  coming  here  at 
this  time,  is  to  lay  before  you  all  the  advantages  we  have  been 
able  to  secure  for  you,  that  you  may  be  made  acquainted  with, 
and  fully  understand  your  situation,  and  the  alternatives  before 
you.  If,  after  considering  the  subject,  there  be  any  point  upon 
which  you  may  think  our  advice  could  be  useful  to  you,  you 
know  we  have  ahvays  been  your  friends,  and  are  disposed  to 
render  you  our  best  service.  Should  you  now,  therefore,  want 
our  advice,  we  will  endeavor,  by  the  aid  of  the  Great  Spirit,  to 
give  you  the  best  in  our  power. 

At  the  time  we  held  the  council  with  some  of  you  at  Farm- 
ington,  you  requested  us  to  tell  you  when  we  had  lost  all  hope 
of  doing  any  thing  for  you :  since  then  we  have  done  all  that 
we  could.  We  found  by  the  treaty,  that  you  had  alienated 
the  whole  of  your  lands.     We  have  succeeded  in  obtaining  the 


100 

restoration  of  a  considerable  part  of  them  to  you,  and  we  have 
no  hopes  of  effecting  more. 

The  treaty,  as  it  is  now  offered  to  you,  is  not  open  to  altera- 
tion or  amendment.  It  must  either  be  accepted  or  rejected  as 
it  is.  This  your  friends  have  assented  to,  because  we  are  con- 
vinced that,  if  it  be  once  epened  to  alteration,  matters  might  be 
introduced  into  it  prejudicial  to  your  interests,  whilst  there  is  no 
hope  that  any  additional  advantages  whatever  could  be  obtained 
for  you." 

After  a  very  laborious  session,  during  which  the  Indians  went 
carefully  over  the  whole  ground  embraced  by  the  treaty,  close- 
ly scrutinizing  all  its  provisions,  asking  a  great  many  questions, 
and  most  attentively  weighing  every  answer,  one  of  the  chiefs 
rose  and  made  the  following  speech. 

Brothers.  You  have  now  given  us  your  communication, 
and  explained  the  whole  of  your  business,  so  that  all  our  chiefs 
understand  it. 

Brothers.  You  may  expect  that  this  subject  will  be 
thoroughly  examined  and  discussed  by  the  chiefs,  and  some 
determination  will  be  come  to,  by  them — we  understand  that 
one  of  your  number  will  remain  here  to  take  our  answer  to 
you — we  like  that  arrangement. 

Brothers.  You  are  about  to  leave  this  council  and  our 
nation.  We  wdll  take  you  by  the  hand,  as  our  meeting  is 
about  to  close  with  you.  We  hope  you  may  return  to  your 
homes  in  safety,  and  that  the  Great  Spirit  will  protect  you  in 
your  journey,  and  enable  you  to  reach  your  families  in  good 
health. 

Brothers.     We  must  leave  all  things  to  the  kind  care  of 
Him  who  rules  over  the  affairs  of  nations,  and  hope  that  our. 
decision  may  be  such  as  will  promote  the  good  of  all,  and  be 
most  for  the  advantao-e  of  our  whole  nation.'' 

At  the  time  the  Committee  retired  from  the  Council,  it  was 
concluded  to  leave  one  of  our  members  with  the  Indians,  to 
give  them  any  further  information  which  might  be  required 
during  their  deliberations.     They  continued  in  council  until 


101 

the  15th  of  the  Fourth  month,  inclusive,  having  been  closely 
and  constantly  engaged  in  deliberation  and  discussion  six 
whole  days. 

The  Friend  who  had  remained  with  the  Indians,  until  the 
close  of  the  council,  after  the  business  of  it  was  concluded,  ad- 
dressed to  a  member  of  the  joint  Committee,  the  following 
letter : 

Buffalo  Reservation^  State  of  JVew  York, 
4ih  Month  15th,  1842. 

Philip  E.  Thomas, 

My  Dear  Friend, 

After  the  committee  of  Friends  had  closed  their  labours,  and 
withdrawn  from  the  General  council  of  the  Senecas,  on  the 
11th  of  this  month,  I  continued  here,  in  accordance  with  the 
request  of  the  Committee,  and  regularly  attended  the  council 
every  day,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  such  further  information, 
on  behalf  of  Friends,  as  might  be  desired. 

The  conditions  of  the  proposed  Supplemental  Treaty  had 
been  so  clearly  opened,  and  explained  to  the  Chiefs,  that  they 
appeared  fully  to  understand  all  its  provisions ;  there  was  a 
very  general  attendance  from  the  four  reservations,  and  a  de- 
liberate discussion,  upon  every  article  of  the  treaty,  took  place. 
The  Council,  which  had  been  opened  on  the  9th  instant,  met 
daily,  and  did  not  close  its  session  until  this  evening,  when  the 
question  upon  the  receptance  or  rejection  of  the  proposed 
Treaty  was  finally  decided. 

In  a  letter,  addressed  by  the  Indians  to  the  Secretary  of 
War,  and  which  they  have  requested  me  to  transmit  to  the 
Committee,  to  be,  by  them,  delivered,  they  say, 

"We  agree  to  accept  of  the  proposition  for  a  Supplemental 
Treaty,  as  that  Treaty  has  been  read  and  explained  to  us,  by 
the  committee  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  to  give  our  assent, 
in  due  form,  to  said  Treaty,  when  it  shall  be  presented  by  the 
proper  officers,  on  the  part  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  and  when  the   Ogden  Company  shall  have  complied 


102 

with  the  stipulations  of  said  treaty  on  their  part,"  and,  "  We 
request  the  Government  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements 
for  the  execution  of  said  Treaty,  by  sending  the  necessary 
officers,  on  the  part  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States, 
and  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  and  of  the  Ogden  Company, 
to  meet  us  in  council,  on  the  Buffalo  creek  Keservation,  on 
the  16th  day  of  May  next,  or  at  the  earliest  convenience  of 
the  Government." 

This  letter  was  signed  by  79  Chiefs,  which  included  all  of 
them  that  were  present,  except  two. 

Although  the  council  have,  as  here  stated,  agreed  to  accept 
the  Treaty,  on  the  conditions  offered,  yet,  at  the  same  time? 
they  have  informed  the  Secretary  of  War,  that  they  are  very 
desirous  to  be  allowed  a  longer  time  than  is  limited,  to  remove 
from  the  improved  lands,  now  agreed  to  be  relinquished ;  and 
have  also  requested  a  modification  of  some  of  the  other  condi- 
tions, which  they  have  explained  to  the  Secretary,  and  re- 
quested the  aid  of  Friends  in  effecting. 

The  Council,  in  concluding  their  communication  to  the  Se- 
cretary of  War,  further  say, 

"  We  have  strenuously  maintained,  and  we  still  believe  that 
the  Seneca  Nation,  as  such,  never  has  assented  to  the  sale  of 
our  lands,  to  the  Ogden  Company,  but  we  think  this  compro- 
mise better  for  us,  than  to  adopt  any  other  means  in  our  power, 
for  obtaining  redress.  Yet  as  an  injured  and  oppressed  people, 
we  throw  ourselves  upon  the  mercy  of  the  Government ;  en- 
treating, that  if  it  be  possible,  the  Government  would  obtain 
for  us  these  proposed  alterations.  But  if  this  cannot  be  done, 
we  must  submit  to  our  fate." 

Notwithstanding  we  have  not  gained  for  the  Indians  all  that 
we  could  have  desired,  yet  it  is  a  circumstance  most  gratifying 
to  us,  that  by  this  arrangement,  the  forcible  expulsion  of  these 
greatly  injured  people,  from  the  country  descended  to  them, 
from  their  forefathers,  is  prevented  ;  and  that  although,  under 
this  arrangement,  they  will  be  deprived  of  a  portion  of  their 
lands,  yet  they   will  receive   some   compensation,  for  the  part 


103  , 

now  to  be  alienated,  and  it  is  believed  will  retain  a  sufficiency 
on  which  they  may,  with  industry,  secure  a  comlortable  sub- 
sistence. 

Situated  as  we  now  are,  our  position  towards  these  peoble 
has  become  one  of  deep  responsibility — they  are  poor  and  feel 
very  helpless — they  believe  there  are  none  but  the  Society  of 
Friends  on  whom  they  can  safely  rely,  and  they  have  an  un- 
shaken confidence,  that  we  will  not  desert  them;  and  this 
opinion  has  had  a  powerful  influence  upon  their  recent  delibe- 
rations. 

They  have  arrived  at  a  crisis,  never  before  presented,  and  a 
large  field  for  labour  is  about  to  open,  in  which  their  friends 
may  use  the  means  which  a  Benevolent  Providence  has  put  in 
their  power,  to  rescue  from  extinction,  and  secure  the  civili- 
zation of  this  remnant  of  the  Seneca  Nation  of  Indians  ;  and 
1  greatly  desire  that  our  hearts  may  respond  to  the  call.  The 
circumstances  by  which  they  are  surrounded,  and  their  almost 
universal  desire  for  education,  and  improvement,  in  the  arts 
of  civilized  life,  conspire  to  ensure  to  our  labours  a  favorable 
result,  and  to  crown  our  exertions  with  a  successful  and  happy 
conclusion. 

The  council,  which  has  just  been  dissolved,  was  closed  with 
an  expression  of  fervent  gratitude  to  the  Great  Spirit,  for  his 
continued  goodness,  in  keeping  the  chain  of  friendship  bright, 
between  their  old  friends,  the  Quakers,  and  the  Seneca  Na- 
tion ,  and  with  the  expression  of  an  earnest  desire,  that  this 
friendship  may  never  de  dissolved  until  the  Senecas  shall  cease 
to  exist. 

It  aifords  me  a  sincere  gratification  to  be  able  to  add,  that  by 
this  effort,  on  the  part  of  Friends,  which  is  about  to  be  brought 
to  so  happy  a  termination,  the  animosities  that  had  been  en- 
gendered amongst  the  Indians,  by  artfully  designing  indivi- 
duals, on  the  question  of  their  emigration  to  the  west,  are 
likely  to  become  healed;  and  that  peace  and  concord,  will 
again  be  restored  amongst  them — all  parties  having  appeared 
cordially  to  unite,  in  the  final  conclusions  of  the  late  Council* 


104 

and  to  have  separated,  with  a  manifestation  of  reciprocal  good 
feelings  towards  each  other. 

Thy  affectionate  friend, 

G.  M.  COOPER. 

By  the  foregoing  letter  it'will  be  perceived  that  nearly  all 
the  chiefs  of  the  Seneca  nation   attended   this  very  important 
meeting ;  the  whole  number  being  about  ninety.     Nearly  all 
the  chiefs  of  the  Tonawanda  Reservation  were  there,  and  they 
.'  all  excepting  one,  signed  the  assent  to  the  treaty,  and  also  the 

I  letter  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  requesting  that 

arrangements  might  be  made,  and  the  proper  officers  sent,  in 
order  that  the  Treaty  might  be  duly  executed.  The  great 
unanimity  of  so  large  a  body,  on  a  subject  so  interesting  to  the 
nation,  was  an  extraordinary  circumstance,  and  a  strong  proof 
of  their  confidence  in  their  old  and  long  tried  friends.  Eighty- 
one  chiefs  were  present,  and  all  except  two  of  them,  signgd 
the  assent  and  the  letter. 

The  Government  granted  their  request,  and  a  time  was  fixed 
for  consummating  the  treaty.  The  venerable  Ambrose  Spen- 
cer, farmerly  Chief  Justice  of  the  State  of  New  York,  was  ap- 
pointed a  commissioner  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  and 
Samuel  Hoare,  a  commissioner  on  the  part  of  Massachusetts. 
Abraham  Dixon  appeared  as  a  Delegate  from  the  Legislature  of 
New  York.  Thomas  L.  Ogden  and  Joseph  Fellows  were 
present  as  representatives  of  the  Ogden  Land  Company,  and 
Philip  E.  Thomas,  Moses  Sheppard,  Joseph  S.  Walton,  Benja- 
min Ferris,  John  Leggett,  Griffith  M.  Cooper,  and  Isaac  Post, 
represented  the  four  Yearly  Meetings. 

The  Council,  for  the  consummation  of  the  treaty,  met  pur- 
suant to  the  arrangement  made  by  the  Government  authorities. 
It  was  held  at  the  Buffalo  creek  reservation,  and  sat  from  the 
16th  of  the  Fifth  month,  to  the  20  of  the  same,  inclusive,  1842. 
It  was  opened  by  Stephen  Osborn,  the  Indian  Agent  appointed 
by  the  United  States.  The  session  continued  five  days,  and 
closed,  after  a  ratification  of  the  Treaty,  by  a  vote  of  fifiy-six 


105 

in  favor  of  it,  and  sixteen  against  it,  those  in  the  negative  being 
mostly  Tonewandas. 

By  this  treaty  there  was  restored  to  the  Seneca  nation  two 
reservations,  containing  together  52,143  acres,  principally  of 
rich,  fertile  land,  giving  to  each  family  more  than  one  hundred 
acres.  They  were  thus  enabled  to  remain  on  their  native  soil, 
and  to  avoid  a  ruinous  emigration  to  a  distant  and  sickly  coun- 
try, ill  adapted  to  their  present  habits, — surrounded  by  savage 
and  warlike  tribes, — and  scantily  supplied  with  timber.  As  was 
anticipated  by  their  friends,  experience  has  demonstrated,  that 
the  fatal  consequences  of  such  a  removal,  were  not  imaginary. 
During  the  past  summer,  as  will  be  seen  in  this  narrative, 
sixty-two  Senecas,  mostly  of  the  old  emigration  party, — forty- 
one  Cayugas, — eight  Onondagas,  and  a  number  of  vagrant  In- 
dians of  other  tribes, — were  induced  to  emigrate  to  the  lands, 
allotted  them  by  the  Government,  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
of  these,  before  the  end  of  six  months,  nearly  one  half  were  dead, 
and  some  of  the  rest,  in  a  miserable  emaciated  condition,  have 
straggled  back  to  their  old  homes.  An  application  by  their 
brethren  has,  as  will  hereinafter  be  seen,  been  made  to  the  In- 
dian Department,  for  assistance  to  bring  the  remainder  again 
into  the  state  of  New  York. 

Although  the  abandonment  of  the  two  Reservations  of  Buf- 
falo and  Tonewanda  to  the  Ogden  Land  Company,  in  the 
manner  already  described,  was  a  grievous  wrong  to  the  Indians, 
and  a  subject  of  painful  regret  to  their  friends ;  yet,  as  we 
know,  that  a  kind  and  overruling  Providence,  "from  seeming 
evil,  still  educes  good,"  we  are  not  without  a  hope,  that  it  may 
prove  so  in  the  present  case.  The  proximity  of  the  Buffalo 
tribe  to  a  large  and  populous  city,  was  attended  by  many  cir- 
cumstances, which  were  very  obviously,  exceedingly  injurious 
to  the  Indians,  and  de^radins:  to  their  character.  Their  removal 
to  Cattaraugus  will  greatly  abate  these  evils.  The  scattered  situ- 
ation of  the  remnant  of  the  Senecas,  numbering  only  about  2500 
persons,  and  occupying  114,000  acres  of  detached  land,  was  un- 
iavorable  to  their  improvement.  Under  such  circumstances  it 
14 


I 

/ 


106 

was  impossible,  with  the  means  in  our  power,  to  maintain  a 
number  of  schools,  sufficient  for  the  education  of  their  children. 
Many  of  the  advantages  of  social  intercourse  cannot  be  enjoyed 
by  an  indigent  people,  living  remote  from  each  other.  By 
the  concentration  of  greater  nurhbers  at  Cattaraugus,  these  evils 
have  already  been  much  diminished. 

After  the  execution  of  the  treaty  of  1842,  the  Indians,  feeling 
themselves  more  certain  of  a  home,  began  to  remove  to  their 
remaining  Reservations — to  clear  their  lands — and  extend  their 
agricultural  operations.  The  hand  of  industry  was  seen  on  all 
sides.  New  settlements  were  made, — commodious  dwellings 
were  erected, — barns  built,  and  their  fields  inclosed  with  new 
and  substantial  fences.  But  they  had  not  long  enjoyed  this 
happy  condition,  before  a  retrospective  view  of  their  painful 
and  disastrous  struggle  with  the  Ogden  Land  Company,  induced 
many  of  them  to  inquire,  what  there  was,  in  their  present  posi- 
tion, to  secure  them  from  a  renewal  of  the  struggle,  and  a  final 
loss  of  all  their  lands.  It  was  in  vain  that  their  friends  assured 
them,  they  held  an  absolute  and  indefeasible  title  to  their  re- 
maining Reservations,  and  that  no  power  could  legally  dispos- 
sess them,  without  their  own  consent.  But  they  had  not  for- 
gotten that  General  Washington,  when  President  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  in  a  speech  to  their  great  and  distinguished  Chief, 
CoRNPLANTER,  had  givcu  them  the  same  assurance.  "Hear 
well,"  said  that  dignified  statesman,  "and  let  it  be  heard  by 
every  person  in  your  nation,  the  President  of  the  United  States 
declares,  that  the  General  Government  considers  itseif  bound 
to  protect  you  in  all  your  land,  secured  to  you  by  the  treaty  at 
Fort  Stanwix,  in  1784." — "In  future  vou  cannot  be  defrauded 
of  your  lands: — You  possess  the  right  to  sell  your  lands,  and 
therefore  the  sale  of  your  lands  in  future  will  depend  entirely 
on  yourselves." 

In  addition  to  this  solemn  pledge,  given  them  by  their 
"  great  Father,"  the  President  of  the  United  States,  they  had, 
in  reply  to  an  address  that  had  been  delivered  from  their  na- 
tion to  Dewitt  Clinton,  when  Governor  of  the  state  of  New 
York,  received  a  similar  assurance,  viz. 


107 

"  All  the  right  that  Ogden  and  his  Company  have  [to  your 
Reservations,]  is  the  right  to  purchase  them,  when  you  deem 
IT  EXPEDIENT  TO  SELL  THEM — that  is,  they  Can  buy  your 
lands,  but  no  other  person  can. 

''You  may  retain  them  as  long  as  you  please.  No  man 
shall  deprive  you  of  them,  without  your  consent.  The  state 
will  protect  you  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  your  property." 
[Stone's  Life  and  Times  of  Red  Jacket,  page  309,  310.] 

Notwithstanding  these  solemn  assurances,  the  poor  Senecas 
have  from  that  day  to  the  present,  seen  their  princely  domain, 
embracing  millions  of  acres  of  the  finest  land  in  America,  melt 
away  like  snow  beneath  a  summer  sun.  Under  the  manage- 
ment of  grasping  and  unprincipled  land  speculators,  they  have 
seen  nearly  all  that  splendid  country,  lying  between  the  Sene" 
ca  Lake  and  the  Niasrara  River,  taken  from  them.  None  of  it 
was  left  to  them  but  four  or  five  small  reservations.  Notwith- 
standing the  promise  that  the  General  Government  would  "pro- 
tect them  in  their  possessions,"  and  the  assurance  that  they 
could  not  be  defrauded  of  their  lands,  they  had,  even  within 
three  years,  seen  two  of  the  largeH  and  best  of  their  reserva- 
tions, wrested  from  them  by  z.  fraudulent  treaty,  and  that  treaty 
sanctioned  by  the  very  Government,  which  the  great  and  mag- 
nanimous Washington  had  declared  was  ''bound  to  protect 
them!" 

Well   might  this   small  remnant  of  a  nation,  "peeled  and 
scattered"  as  they  had  been,  inquire  "what  there  was  in  their 
present  position  to  secure   them  from   a  final  loss  of  the  little 
remains  of  their  once  extensive  territory."     Experience  had 
taught  them  that  the  avarice  of  the  white  man   is   as  insatiable 
as  death, — and  that  their  own  chiefs  were  not  invulnerable  to 
the  seductive  infiuences  of  bribery  and  corruption.     Influenced 
by  these   reflections,  they   became   restless   and   dissatisfied. 
They  called  a  council  in  the  winter  of  1S42,  '43,  to  consider 
the  subject,  and  after  much  discussion,  finding  themselves  un- 
able to  discover  a  remedy  for  the  evil,  they  agreed  to  refer  the 
whole  matter  to  Friends. 


108 

By  an  arrangement  with  the  Indians,  a  delegation  of  Friends 
met  them  in  council,  on  the  22d  of  the  Sixth  month,  1843,  in 
the  council  house,  at  Cattaraugus.  Before  embarking  in  this 
concern  it  was  thought  proper  to  inform  the  Indian  Department 
of  this  appointment,  and  of  our  desire  to  attend  the  council. 
To  this  request  we  received  the  following  answer. 

War  Department,  Office  of  Indian  Affairs,  } 

June  20M,  1843.      ] 
Sir, 

I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  letter  of  the  10th 
instant,  asking  permission  for  a  deputation  of  Friends  to  be  pre- 
sent at  a  council  of  Indians,  to  be  held  at  Cattaraugus,  on  the 
20th  inst.  There  certainly  can  be  no  objection  to  granting  this 
request,  and  the  Department  anticipates  much  benefit  to  the 
Indians,  from  the  good  counsels  of  the  members  of  your  Society. 

I  regret  the  delay  in  ansv/ering  your  letter,  which  I  beg 
leave  to  assure  you  was  entirely  accidental.  m 

Very  respectfully,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

T.  HARTLEY  CRAWFORD. 

P.  E.  Thomas,  Baltimore,  Md. 

The  council  being  duly  opened,  an  elderly  chief  made  a 
short  speech  thanking  the  Great  Spirit  for  our  preservation,  and 
for  his  goodness,  in  permitting  them  once  more  to  meet  us,  and 
then  added  "  We  are  glad  to  see  you  at  this  time.  We  greatly 
need  your  counsel  and  advice  in  the  present  critical  situation 
of  our  affairs, — we  are  thankful  for  what  you  have  heretofore 
done,  by  aiding  and  advising  us,  and  we  hope  you  will  be  en- 
abled to  give  us  advice  at  the  present  time." 

"Brothers.  We  pray  the  Great  Spirit  to  bless  your  labors 
among  us,  and  that  we  may  pursue  such  a  course  as  will  be  for 
our  real  benefit." 

The  minutes  of  the  former  council  were  then  read,  by  which 
it  appeared,  that  the  Indians  had  had  under  consideration,  the 
subject  of  a  better  security  for  their  lands,  in  the  State  of  New 
York  ;  and  had  requested  the  assistance  of  Friends  in  enabling 
them    to    accomplish    this    desirable    object.      We    were   now 


109 

called  upon  by  them  to  say  whether  any  thing  had  been  done, 
and  whether  there  was  any  prospect  of  effecting  that  object. 

The  Indians  were  informed,  that  owins:  to  dissentions  which 
had  existed  among  them,  in  relation  to  the  treaty  of  1842,  and 
to  information  we  had  received,  that  some  of  their  chiefs  had 
petitioned  the  Government  to  annul  that  treaty,  we  had  con- 
cluded to  do  nothing  in  the  matter  of  their  request,  until  we 
could  have  a  personal  interview  with  them,  to  ascertain  clearly 
and  distinctly  their  wishes  as  a  nation,  and  that  it  was  for  this 
purpose  we  had  now  met  them  in  counci. 

The  chiefs  now  entered  into  discussion  among  themselves, 
in  which  the  emigration  party,  who  had  opposed  the  treaty, 
actively  participated.  After  a  warm  debate,  a  committee  was 
appointed  from  the  different  reservations,  to  take  the  subject 
into  consideration,  and  report  to  a  future  sitting  of  the  council. 
On  the  following  day  the  council  again  convened,  when  the 
committee  produced  the  following  report,  to  wit: 

"  The  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  subject  of  the 
Title  to  the  Lands  of  the  Senecas,  having  met  with  the  com- 
mittee of  Friends,  now  attending  the  Council,  and  heard  their 
views,  have  upon  consideration  agreed  to  report,  to  wit : 

"That  in  order  to  obtain  a  more  effectual  security  to  the 
Title  of  our  Lands,  application  be  made  to  the  Legislature  of 
New  York,  to  pass  a  law  authorizing  us  to  convey,  in  Trust,  all 
our  Lands  to  that  state. — Conditioned  1st.  That  the  state  can- 
not hereafter  alienate  it  without  the  consent  of  two-thirds  of 
the  male  population  of  the  Senecas,  of  the  lawful  age  of  21 
years,  in  Council  assembled, — and  2d.  That  the  Seneca  nation 
cannot  hereafter  alienate  it  without  the  consent  of  this  state. — 
The  said  Trust  to  continue  so  long  as  the  pre-emptive  claim  to 
the  Lands  ot  the  •  Senecas  shall  exist.  But  in  case  it  shall  be 
ascertained  by  consulting  good  legal  counsel,  that  such  con- 
veyance in  Trust  cannot  be  made,  or  is  not  the  best  method  of 
securing  such  Title — then  some  other  plan  should  be  adopted 
to  effect  this  desired  object. 

*'  In  order  to  carry  out  this  object,  we  propose  that  the  pre- 


110 

sent  council  appoint  a  committee,  to  co-operate  with  Friends, 
with  instructions  to  consult  the  best  legal  authority  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  report  to  a  future  council  of  the  nation,  for  its  consid- 
eration, what  course  is  the  wisest  and  best  for  the  Senecas 
to  pursue,  to  accomplish  this  object.  Which  is  respectfully 
submitted. 

Signed, 

GEORGE  LINDSEY, 
M.  B.  PIERCE, 
SAMUEL  GORDEN, 

ISAAC  SHANKS, 
HENRY  TWO  GUNS, 

TUNIS  HALFTOWN, 

JACOB  BLACKSMITH." 

This  Report  was  succeded  by  a  highly  animated  debate,  in 
which   there  appeared  great  conflict  of  opinion,  in  relation  to 
the  policy  and  effect  of  the  measures  proposed.    Some  IhougSt 
the  only  way  to  render  the  tenure  of  their   lands  secure,  was 
to  hold  them  in  severalty, — some  thought  they  should  be  held 
by  Friends,  in  trust,  for   the  use  of  the  nation;   whilst  others 
objected  to  any  change  in  the   present   mode  of  holding  them. 
During  this  discussion,  Friends  were  repeatedly  called  upon 
for  their  opinion  and  advice,  on  particular  points,  which  was 
freely  given.     The  operation  and  effects  of    the    arrangement 
proposed  by  their  own  Committee,   were  shown;  and  the  pro- 
bable  consequences  of  leaving  the    power  to  sell  their  lands, 
in  the  hands  of  their  chiefs,  were  plainly  indicated.     Finally 
they  were  advised  to  adopt  and  carry  into  effect  the  Report  of 
their  own  Committee. 

Various   attempts  had  evidently  been  made  to  impress  up- 
on the   Indians,  as  well  as  others,  an    apprehension   that,  but 
for    our   interference  in   bringing   about  the   Treaty  of  1842, 
these    Indians    might    have    retained    all  their  lands   in  the 
A     state  of  New  York;  or  in  other  words,  that  by  this  interference 
I      we   had  in     effect  co-operated     with    the   Ogden    Company, 


Ill 

in  depriving  these  people  of  their  two  Reservations  at  Tone- 
wanda  and  Buffalo.  It  is  therefore  due  to  all  parties,  that 
a  plain  authentic  narrative  of  the  circumstances  connected 
with  this  whole  matter,  should  be  here  given,  not  only  for  the 
information  of  our  own  members,  who  are  directly  implicated 
in  the  transaction,  but  to  disabuse  the  public. 

In  a  paper  published  in  Philadelphia,  entitled  the  The 
Frieivd,  under  date  of  the  4th  month  29,  1843,  there  is  a  syn- 
opsis of  the  proceedings  of  the  late  Orthodox  Yearly  meeting 
in  that  city,  in  which,  among  other  matters,  is  the  following 
notice  of  a  Report  received  from  a  Committee  of  that  meeting 
as  follows: 

"The  Report  from  the  Indian  Committee  was  painfully  in- 
teresting. Through  the  influence  of  the  Separatists  and  inter- 
ested persons,  the  Treaty  of  1S38  has  been  irrevocably  fixed — 
though  Friends  had  taken  much  pains  to  have  an  inquiry  into 
the  manner  it  was  obtained,  instituted  by  Government,  and  a 
strong  hope  was  entertained  that  it  would  be  annulled.  The 
Indians  were  induced  to  sign  a  Supplemental  Treaty  last  spring 
by  which  they  gave  up  to  the  pre-emption  holders  the  Buffalo 
and  Tonewanda  Reservations,  comprising  about  6'2,000  acres 
of  their  Lands,  and  much  the  most  valuable.  None  of  the 
Tonewanda  Chiefs  signed  the  Treat}^,  but  earnestly  protested 
against  it.'' 

That  this  Report  contains  a  misrepresentation  must  be  ob- 
vious to  any  one  acquainted  with  the  history  of  the  Treaty  of 
1838.  That  Treaty  was  never  ''irrevocably  fixed.''  It  was  re- 
jected by  the  Senate — was  superseded  by  the  amended  Treaty 
of  1840,  and  never  afterwards  claimed  any  attention  of  the 
Government,  but  remains  to  this  day  a  dead  letter.  The  Com- 
mittee which  made  that  Report  either  did  not  understand  the 
subject;  or  have  wilfully  misrepresented  it.  their  statement 
contains  witlin  itself  a  palpable  contradiction.  The  Treaty 
of  1838  stipulated  for  the  alienation  of  the  four  Reserva- 
tions. If  that  treaty  had  been  "irrevocably  fixed,"  then  all 
the    Reservations    of    Alleghany,  .Cattaraugus,    Buffalo,    and 


112 

Tonewanda,  would    have    been,  to    this   day,    the  property 
of  the   Offden    Land    Company.      And    we   leave    it   to  that 
Committee  to   reconcile,    their    assertion    with    their    subse- 
quent statement,  when  they  say  "The  Indians  were  induced  to 
sign  a    Supplemental   Treaty  last  spring  [4th    mo.   1842]   by 
which  they  gave  up  to  the    pre-emption    holders,    the   Buffalo 
and  Tonewanda  Reservations^  conidXmvig  6-2,000  acres  of  their 
land.''     Now  it  must  be  obvious  to  the   most  obtuse  intellect, 
that  if  the  treaty  of  1S3S,  or  even  the  amended  treaty  of  1840, 
had   been  "irrevocably   fixed,"  these  Indians   in    1842   would 
have  had  no  lands  to  "give  up."     It  is  therefore  evident  that 
these  assertions  are  both  incorrect     The  truth  is,  by  the  treaty 
of  1842  they  did  not  give  up  any  land  at  all.     On  the  contrary, 
by  that  treaty  they  received  back  52,143  acres,  which  had  been 
wrested  from  them  by  the  amended  treaty  of  1840,   and  which 
were  restored  to  them  by  the  influence  of  our  Commmittees,  un- 
der the  treaty  of  1842,  as  is  plainly  shown  by  the  letter  to  them 
from  the  War  Department,  dated  21st.    of  April,    1843.   [Seg 
page  116.] 

The  authors  of  this  charge  against  the  great  body  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Friends,  composing  the  four  Yearly  Meetings  of  Gen- 
esse.  New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore,  whom  these  ac- 
cusers are  here  pleased  to  term  "Separatists,'"  had  long  before 
they  made  this  charge  upon  us,  been  applied  to  by  these  very 
Indians,  and  had  aciuallv  declined  to  render  them  any  assistance 
to  retain  their  land.  [See  speeches  of  Israel  Jamison  and  Se- 
neca White,  in  the  general  council,  at  the  Buffalo  Reservation? 
1843,  pages  114,  115,  116.] 

These  speeches  also  show,  that  they  had  actually  advised 
these  Indians  to  abandon  their  lands  and  remove  to  the  west  ! 
Under  this  plain  developement  of  facts,  it  would  seem  difficult 
to  account  for  the  orrave  charo:e  here  sfratuitously  brouaht  a- 
gainst  us.  Hnd  our  accusers  been  less  influenced  by  hostile 
feelings,  and  more  by  a  disposition  to  give  a  candid  account  of 
the  whole  matter,  they  would  hardly  have  made  this  state- 
ment. 


113 

The  treaty  of  1838,  by  which  the  lands  of  the  Senecas  had 
in  the  first  instance  been  ceded,  was  not  made,  as  our  accusers 
have  asserted  "through  the  influence  of  the  Separatists"  and 
others.  It  was  made  before  Friends  were  consulted,  or  had 
taken  any  part  in  the  matter.  The  amended  treaty  of  1840,  by 
which  that  cession  was  consummated,  was  made  in  opposition 
to  our  most  earnest  remonstrance,  after  we  had  clearly  shown 
its  fraudulent  character.  Yet  we  see  an  attempt  is  here  made, 
to  throw  the  odium  of  that  measure  upon  us:  first,  by  en- 
deavoring to  fasten  upon  us,  an  invidious  name,  and  then  charg- 
ing, that  but  for  our  influence,  and  the  influence  of  other  per- 
sons interested  "a  strong  hope  was  entertained  that  it  [the 
treaty]  would  be  annulled. 

The  ground  upon  which  this  "strong  hope"  rested  was,  as 
we  are  to  understand,  that  our  accusers  "had  taken  much  pains 
to  have  an  inquiry  into  the  manner  the  treaty  had  been  obtain- 
ed" !  Had  they  pursued  their  inquiry  to  the  proper  issue, 
they  would  have  discovered  that  something  more  than  mere 
inquiry  was  necessary  to  annul  a  treaty  which  had  legally  vest- 
ed in  the  Og  ien  Land  Company  the  whole  of  the  four  Reser- 
vations. They  would  have  discovered  that  no  Legislation  of 
our  country  could  legislate  away  an  estate  which  had  been 
assured  to  its  possessors  by  the  supreme  law  of  the  land.  In 
a  word,  they  would  have  discovered  that  a  treaty  which  had 
been  made  by  three  parties^  could  not  be  abrogated  by  one  of 
them,  without  the  consent  of  the  others. 

On  reference  to  the  following  extracts  from  a  Report  by  the 
Committee  on  Indian  aff"airs  to  the  Senate,  in  18462_Ppon  an 
application  made  in  behalf  of  the  Tonewandas,  a  branch  of 
the  Seneca  nation,  to  obtain  a  restoration  of  a  portion  of  the 
very  lands  now  in  question,  it  will  be  seen,  how  far  the  "much 
pains  to  inquire  into  the  manner  this  treaty  was  obtained" 
justified  the  "strong  hope''  here  so  confidently  expressed,  viz: 

"  The  main  question  submitted  to  the  Committee  and  now 

to  the  Senate  is,   whether  it  is  competent  for  the  government 

of  the  United  States  to  annul  the  provisions  of  a  treaty,  upon 
15 


114 

the  application  of  one  of  ti'ie  parties  to  it,  or  without  the  concur- 
rence and  approbation  of  all  the  parties.  The  Committee  are 
clearly  of  the  opinion  that  it  is  not,  and  that  the  treaty  can  on- 
ly be  dissolved  by  and  with  the  consent  of  all  the  parties  to  it. 
It  is  said  that  no  one  of  the  Tonewanda  band  ever  signed  the 
treaty,  and  that  it  was  a  fraud  upon  them;  and  that  fraud  viti- 
ates the  treaty,  and  renders  it  void  ab  initio.'^ "The  Com- 
mittee are  of  the  opinion,  that  upon  the  allegation  of  fraud,  or 
of  misrepresentation,  or  of  non-representation,  to  annul  and 
set  aside  an  Indian  tieaty,  would  not  only  tend  strongly  to 
unsettle  the  whole  of  our  Indian  policy,  but  would  open  a 
field  of  interminable  difficulty,  embarrassment  and  expense. 
They  therefore  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  following  re- 
solution. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  prayer  of  the  petitioners  ought  not  to 
be  granted.'' 

In  full  confirmation  that  no  small  efforts  had  been  exerted 
to  make  an  unfavorable  impression  on  the  minds  of  the  In(Ji- 
ans  towards  us,  we  refer  to  the  following  extracts  from 
the  proceedings  of  a  General  Council  of  the  Seneca  Chiefs 
held  at  the  Buffalo  Reservation  in  IS43,  viz: 

"Israel  Jemison  stated  that  while  in  Philadelphia,  he  was 
informed,  that  a  division  had  taken  place  in  the  society  of 
Friends,  and  went  on  to  show  that  his  mind  had  been  influen- 
ced against  us  by  representations  made  to  him  by  the  Friends 
in  Phih^delphia,  who  were  not  of  our  party,  and  who  had  told 
him  that  they  had  no  confidence  in  us;  and  advised  the  Indians 
to  have  nothing  to  do  with  us.  He  stated  that  himself  and 
others  had  been  sent  by  the  nation,  to  Philadelphia,  to  ask  as- 
sistance of  the  society  of  Friends,  after  the  Treaty  of  183S 
was  ratified,  and  that  they  first  applied  to  the  party  there  op- 
posed to  us,  who  advised  them  to  remove  west,  and  professed 
to  be  willing  to  assist  them  in  doing  so.  He  said  the  deputa- 
tion then  called  upon  that  part  of  the  society  to  which  we  be- 
long, and  solicited  their  aid.  As  soon  as  the  other  party  found 
these    Chiefs   had  interviews   with    us,    they    from  that    mo- 


115 

ment  declined  any  further  communication  with  them,  because 
they  had  no  friendship  for  us — nor  confidence  in  us."  Jemison 
then  added,  "that  he  had  asked  these  Friends,  (two  of  whom 
he  named,)  what  they  would  do  if  a  great  log  lay  in  their  path, 
which  they  could  not  themselves  remove,  and  those  who  they 
now  warned  him  against,  offered  to  assist  them,  would  they 
not  accept  the  offer  ?  To  this  they  replied,  that  they  would 
not !  This,  he  said,  convinced  him,  that  they  had  no  confi- 
dence in  us       How  then  could  he  have  any?" 

Seneca  White  then  rose  and  stated,  "  that  he  had  been 
-appointed  by  the  Chiefs  last  evening,  to  say  a  few  words  which 
he  wished  the  committee  to  listen  to,  as  the  voice  of  the  Sene- 
ca nation  —  and  he  would  now  proceed  to  discharge  the  duty 
entrusted  to  him. 

"We  want  you  to  understand  that  it  is  difficult  for  the  Indians 
to  comprehend  at  once  all  your  propositions  and  counsel,  and 
because  of  this  misunderstanding,  there  may  arise  unpleasant 
remarks — which  originate  from  ignorance,  more  than  from  bad 
motives.  It  is  true,  we  did  ask  assistance  of  both  parties  of  the 
Society  of  Friends  ;--the  party  opposed  to  you,  considering 
our  case  hopeless,  advised  us  to  remove  west — we  consulted  you 
on  the  subject  of  our  affairs,  when  our  Lands  were  taken  from 
us  by  the  Treaty  of  1838,  you  did  not  advise  us  to  go,  and  said 
you  w^ould  do  all  you  could  for  us — we  are  satisfied  with  what 
vou  have  done,  and  believe  it  was  the  best  that  could  be  done 
for  us,  under  the  circumstances  of  the  case. 

'-'We  wish  you  to  understand  that  our  confidence  in  you  has 
not  been  shaken — w^e  have  not  abated  in  our  friendship  for 
you,  nor  in  our  desire  for  your  help  and  assistance.  It  is  the 
wish  of  this  nation  that  you  should  continue  to  assist  the  Indi- 
ans—they have  no  others  to  look  to,  but  to  the  Society  cf 
Friends.  The  Chiefs  are  sensible  that  they  are  not  competent 
to  manage  the  difficulties  which  frequently  arise  between  us  and 
the  Ogden  Company.  They  therefore  look  to  you  to  render 
them  advice  and  assistance  in  the  present  critical  state  of  th^, 
affairs  of  the  nation. 


116 

"Our  affairs  at  present  are  very  difficult — we  hope  you  will 
not  think  it  strange  if  we  should  trouble  you  many  times  by 
asking  your  advice  and  counsel.  Our  path  is  so  difficult,  that 
we  cannot  walk  in  it  without  your  advice  and  assistance.  I 
have  now  said  all  that  I  was  requested  to  say  on  behalf  of  the 
Chiefs,  and  will  only  repeat,  in  conclusion,  that  the  confidence 
of  this  nation  in  you,  has  not  been  disturbed,  and  they  w^sh 
you  to  continue  to  feel  an  interest  in  our  welfare." 

How  Friends,  under  this  plain  statement  of  the  matter,  can 
justly  be  charged  with  having  co-operated  in  depriving  these 
Indians  of  any  part  of  their  Lands,  every  one  will  judge  for^ 
himself.  How  far  they  have  been  instrumental  in  procuring 
the  restoration  of  the  portion  now  returned  to  them,  will  be 
seen  by  the  following  letter,  addressed  to  the  Chiefs  from  the 
War  Department,  in  reply  to  a  communication  sent  by  them, 
to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  complaining  of  the  Treaty 
of  1842,  which  dissatisfaction  was  no  doubt  the  effect  of  the 
insiduous  attempts  to  prejudice  them  against  their  Friends,*- af- 
ter they  had  been  the  means  of  securing  that  recession  and 
Treaty. 

(copy.) 

"War  Department,  Office  of  Indians  Jlffairs,  > 

^pril  21,  1843,  I 

*'My  Friends, 

Your  letter  of  the  first  of  Febuary  last,  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  has  been  referred  to  this  office,  with 
instructions  to  me  to  answer  it.  I  am  sorry  to  discover  that 
dissatisfaction  exists  amongst  you,  and  trust  that  I  may  be  able 
to  show  you  all,  that  it  is  without  cause. 

"The  nation  had  alienated  and  sold  all  your  Land,  by  the 
Treaty  of  1838.  The  last  Treaty  of  May,  1842  was  brought 
about  by  great  exertions  of  your  friends,  who  are  still  your 
best  friends,  and  by  the  friendly  countenance  and  aid  of  the 
War  Department.  This  Treaty  brings  back  to  you  two  of  your 
Reservations,  and  provides  for  you  a  home  in  New  York,  when 


117 

you  had  parted  from  all  your  Lands  there,  by  the  first  Treaty; 
and  but  for  the  last,  you  must  have  removed  west  This  sure- 
ly is  a  great  accommodation  to  you;  and  besides,  you  are  to 
be  paid  for  the  two  Reservations  you  have  parted  with.  The 
last  Treaty  has  been  ratified  and  confirmed  by  the  United  States, 
and  you  must  remove;  any  attempt  at  remaining  will  be  fatal 
to  you,  and  I  advise  you  as  a  friend,  quietly  to  remove  to  the 
Reservations  that  are  left  to  you. 

Your  friend, 

T.  HARTLEY  CRAWFORD. 

To  the  Chiefs  of  the  New  York  Indians, 

Jemmy  Johnson,  Henry  Two  Guns  and  others. 

Akron,  N.  York. 

Notwithstanding  this  friendly  admonition,  from  official  au- 
thority, given  with  the  kindest  intentions,  by  the  head  of  the 
Indian  Bureau,  who  had  uniformly  manifested  a  paternal  re- 
gard for  these  Indians,  yet,  contrary  to  our  repeated  advice, 
they  were  still  counselled  to  persevere  in  their  determination  to 
resist  the  treaty,  and  refused  to  avail  of  the  opportunity  offer- 
ed them,  to  settle  on  either  the  AUeghany  or  Cattaraugus 
Reservations. 

The  Buffalo  Indians,  who  followed  the  advice  of  Friends, 
gradually  removed  to  Cattaraugus.  The  moneys  they  received 
for  the  improvements  they  had  relinquished,  they  appropriated 
to  the  erection  of  comfortable  dwellings,  and  opening  new 
farms.  Their  children  are  now  receiving  an  education  to  fit 
them  for  civilized  society.  In  the  mean  time  the  poor  delud- 
ed Tonewandas,  after  being  kept  for  years  in  a  state  of  unset- 
tledness — perplexity  and  anxiety,  are  now  to  be  hurried  off"  en 
masse  without  the  necessary  preparation,  to  seek  homes  where 
they  best  may  find  them,  or  to  ruin  themselves  by  expensive, 
and  useless  law  suits. 

The  delegation  having  accomplished  the  objects  of  their  visit, 
previous  to  withdrawing  from  the  council,  one  of  their  number 
addressed  the  Indians  as  follows : 


118 

"  Brothers!  We  are  now  about  to  leave  you,  in  order  to 
return  to  our  respective  homes,  and  before  we  part  we  wish  to 
say  a  few  words  to  you.     Our  forefathers  and  your  forefathers 
made  a  covenant  with  each  other,  in  which  they  mutually 
promised  that  their  friendship  should  continue  so  long  as  the 
sun  and  the  moon  should  endure.     We  do  not  wish  that  friend- 
ship broken.     We  profess  the  same  principles  by  which  our 
forefathers  were  governed  in  their  benoler>t  endeavors  to  im- 
prove the  condition   of  your  people — we  speak  the  same  lan- 
guage which  they  spoke  to  you.     When  we  look  back  and  re- 
member what  was  your  situation  when  our  fathers  first  came 
to  see  you  in  the  wilderness — when  you  had  but  a  very  small 
portion  of  your  land   cultivated,  and  your  people  were  much 
given  to  intemperate  habits,  to  the  great  injury  of  your  nation, 
and  compare  your  situation  then  to  what  it  is  now,  it  is  cheer- 
ino-  to  us  to  see  the  improvement  you  have  already  made,  not 
only  by  discarding  the   use   of  spirituous  liquors,  but  also  in 
your  mode  of  procuring  the  necessaries  of  life  by  cultivating 
the  earth.     This  is   encouraging  to  us,  and  we  believe  your 
comforts  will  continue  to  increase   as  you  improve  in  habits  of 
temperance  and  industry. 

"Brothers!  Our  fathers  long  ago  advised  you  to  with- 
draw your  women  from  the  labors  of  the  field,  that  they  might 
attend  to  domestic  employments — this  is  their  proper  business 

while  the  men  should  engage  more  extensively  in  agricultural 

employments,  and  in  those  trades  and  occupations  that  will 
promote  the  good  of  the  whole  community.  This  advice  we 
repeat  to  you,  and  desire  to  impress  upon  your  minds  the  im- 
portance of  attending  to  it. 

We  affectionately  exhort  you  to  become  united,  and  live  in 
peace  with  one  another  and  with  all  men.  This  is  one  of  the 
greatest  blessings  you  can  enjoy.  It  will  enable  you  to  over- 
come many  difficulties,  and  will  be  a  source  of  great  encour- 
agement and  gratification  to  your  friends.  If  you  live  in  peace 
the  Great  Spirit  will  be  with  you.,  and  His  blessing  will  rest 
upon  you. 


119 

"  We  wish  you  to  keep  your  children  steadily  at  school,  and 
thus  secure  to  them  that  moral  and  literary  instruction  that  will 
elevate  them  to  the  rank  of  intelhgent  good  citizens,  and  crown 
with  full  success  the  long  and  patient  labors  of  your  friends, 
for  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  Seneca  nation. 

Brothers  !  Notwithstanding  we  have  made  a  long  journey 
to  see  you,  and  have  encountered  many  trials,  yet  we  are  glad 
that  we  have  had  the  opportunity  of  shaking  hands  with  our 
Indian  brethren,  assuring  them  of  the  interest  we  feel  in  their 
welfare — and  we  wish  that  our  parting  may  be  under  feelings 
of  mutual  friendship  and  good  will.  Sincerely  desiring  for 
you  the  protection  of  the  Great  Preserver  of  men,  whose  pro- 
vidential eye  is  upon  you  as  well  as  upon  us,  I  bid  you  for 
myself  and  for  the  Friends  now  present — farewell." 

Governor  Blacksnake,  a  very  aged  chief,  supposed  to  be 
near  one  hundred  years  old,  who  had  attended  all  the  sittings 
of  the  council,  and  had  travelled  forty  miles  on  horse-back,  in 
one  day,  that  he  might  be  present,  now  rose  and  made  the  fol- 
lowing concluding  remarks : 

"  Brothers  and  Friends  !  You  have  now  taken  leave  of 
us,  and  are  about  to  go — before  we  separate  I  wish  to  say  a  few 
words  in  conclusion.  The  communication  you  have  made — 
and  the  advice  you  have  given  us  is  intended  for  our  instruc- 
tion that  we  may  become  a  happy  and  a  prosperous  people. 

"  You  have  advised  us  how  to  conduct  our  business — you 
have  told  us  that  our  women  should  be  taken  from  the  field, 
and  employed  in  the  house,  and  that  the  men  should  attend  to 
the  employment  of  the  field ;  you  have  also  given  us  some 
general  instructions  for  the  whole — all  that  you  have  said  is 
correct — you  spoke  also  with  regard  to  the  instruction  of  our 
children,  that  they  might  become  intelligent  and  useful  citizens; 
we  thank  you  for  this  advice — we  wish  you  to  understand  that 
all  these  things  are  in  progression,  but  we  are  happy  to  hear 
you  repeat  these  things  to  us. 

"  Now  in  conclusion  we  will  endeavor  to  remember  you  in 
our  prayers,  that  you  may  return  safely  to  your  homes — we 


I 


120 

will  also  hope  that  at  some  future  day,  we  may  be  permitted 
to  meet  you  again.  We  are  glad  you  continue  to  feel  so  much 
interest  in  our  welfare.  It  is  a  long  time  since  our  fathers 
have  covenanted  with  your  fathers  that  there  should  be  a 
friendship  between  you  and  us. 

"  We  have  remembered  all  these  things — we  now  put  them 
all  together — we  feel  grateful  for  your  kindness — we  are  also 
happy  to  see  our  friends  and  sisters,  that  are  with  you,  who 
have  come  here  for  the  purpose  we  suppose,  of  looking  into 
the  condition  of  the  Indians — we  return  our  thanks  for  their 
kindness.  This  is  all  we  have  to  say,  now  you  are  about  to 
retire." 

The  business  of  the  council  having  been  brought  to  a  satis- 
factory close,  it  was  now  adjourned ;  having  first  Resolved^ 
with  a  single  dissenting  voice,  to  abide  and  carry  out  the  treaty 
of  1842 ,  and  secondly,  determined  immediately  to  call  on  the 
Government  to  see  that  the  treaty  be  faithfully  executed  on  its 
part,  as  well  as  on  the  part  of  the  Ogden  Company.  In  these 
proceedings  the  Tonewando  chiefs  cordially  united,  of  course 
the  late  schism,  which  had  unhappily  been  produced  between 
these  sections  of  the  Seneca  nation,  it  is  hoped,  is  healed. 

In  order  to  carry  out  the  decision  of  this  council  for  obtain- 
ing further  security  for  their  lands,  the  Seneca  nation,  as  a  pre- 
liminary measure,  m  a  General  Council  held  in  the  year  1845, 
Resolved  to  reorganize  and  change  the  form  of  their  govern- 
ment. After  mature  and  deliberate  consideration,  they,  with 
great  unanimity  adopted  the  following  '•  Constitutional  Ordi- 
nance," for  the  future  government  of  the  nation,  copies  of 
which  were  duly  delivered  to  the  governors  of  New  York,  and 
Massachusetts,  and  to  the  President  of  the  United  States ;  as 
formal  and  official  notice  to  those  authorities,  of  the  only  con- 
ditions on  which  the  lands  of  the  Seneca  nation,  could  hereaf- 
ter be  alienated. 


121 


A  Constitutional  Ordinance  of  the  Seneca  J^ation^  in  General 

Council  Assembled. 

Whereas,  the  usage,  practice  and  custom  of  the  Seneca 
nation  of  Indians,  to  sell  and  dispose  of  their  lands  by  the  con- 
sent and  agreement  of  a  majority  of  their  chiefs,  without  the 
express  consent  of  the  warriors  and  people  of  the  nation,  has  in 
these  latter  days  of  our  weakness  and  limited  territory,  given 
great  uneasiness  to  our  people,  and  created  an  apprehension 
among  them,  that  while  this  power  continues  to  be  thus  vested, 
their  homes  will  be  insecure,  and  has  impressed  them  with  the 
belief,  that  they  and  their  children  must  lie  in  continual  fear 
that  their  lands  will  be  sold  without  their  consent,  and  the 
deepest  misery  thus  entailed  upon  them  and  their  posterity. 
And,  whereas,  a  general  council  of  the  whole  nation  was  con- 
vened at  the  council  house  at  the  Cattaraugus  reservation,  on 
the  28th  day  of  Januar}--,  1845,  lor  the  purpose  of  considering 
this  subject,  and  of  so  altering  our  political  usages  and  organiza- 
tion as  after  mature  deliberation,  it  should  be  deemed  wise  and 
expedient.  And  whereas,  also,  the  Sachems,  Chiefs,  and 
Headmen  of  the  said  nation,  duly  assembled  in  such  council, 
have  after  full  discussion  and  mutual  deliberation,  determined 
that  the  welfare  of  the  nation,  and  the  security,  prosperity,  and 
happiness  of  their  people  require,  that  the  express  assent  of  the 
warriors  and  people,  as  well  as  of  the  chiefs  of  the  nation, 
should  be  necessary  to  a  valid  sale  or  disposition  of  their  lands  : 
Therefore,  we  the  chiefs  and  representatives  of  the  Seneca 
nation  of  Indians  in  such  general  council  assembled,  acting  for 
and  in  behalf,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  said  nation,  and  in 
the  exercise  of  the  inalienable  right  of  the  said  nation  to  alter 
and  modily  their  political  customs  and  usages,  when  it  becomes 
necessary  for  their  security,  prosperity,  and  happiness,  do  here- 
by, in  the  name  and  behalf,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  said 
Seneca  nation,  resolve,  determine,  ordain,  publish  and  declare, 
that  our  political  usages,  customs,  organizations,  and  constitu- 
tion be,  and  the  same  are  herebv  altered  and  amended,  so  that 
16 


122 

no  sale  or  disposition  of  the  whole,  or  any  part  of  our  lands 
hereafter  to  be  made,  shall  be  valid  or  of  any  effect,  unless  the 
same  be  made  in  full  and  op.ea.-€©«flciLQiL.lhe-chiefs.and  war- 
riors of  the  natipD^  and  by  .th£-£:spTess^  assent  of  jwo4hirds  of 
the  chiefs,  and  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  residue  of  the  male 
population  of  the  nation  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  whether 
attending  such  council  or  not,  such  assent  to  be  given  in  wri- 
ting, under  the  hands  and  seals  of  the  parties  in  full  and  open 
council  of  the  chiefs  and  w^arriors  of  the  nation,  assembled  to- 
gether in  one  council ;  but  nothing  herein  contained  shall  in 
any  manner  alter,  change,  effect,  lessen  or  diminish,  the  rights, 
powers,  duties,  privileges  or  authority  of  the  chiefs  in  any  other 
matter  or  respect  whatever. 

And  we  do  further  resolve  and  determine,  that  this 
ordinance  or  act  of  the  nation,  be  entered  at  length  in  the  re- 
cords of  this  council,  and  that  four  copies  thereof  be  signed  by 
the  chiefs  assenting  thereunto,  one  of  which  copies  shall  be  de- 
livered to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  with  the  request 
that  the  same  may  be  deposited  with  the  archives  of  the  United 
States ;  one  of  which  shall  be  presented  to  the  Governor  of  this 
State,  with  a  request  that  it  be  sanctioned  by  the  State  and 
filed  with  its  Records ;  one  of  which  shall  be  presented  to 
the  Governor  and  Council  of  Massachusetts,  with  the  request 
that  it  may  be  deposited  among  the  archives  of  that  common- 
wealth, and  kept  in  perpetual  remembrance  by  its  Governor 
and  Council,  and  the  other  of  which  shall  be  deposited  and 
kept  with  the  archives  and  records  of  the  Seneca  nation. 

Done  and  Signed  in  open  council  at  Cattaraugus,  the 
thirtieth  day  of  January,  1845. 

JOHN  SENECA, 

and  49  other  chiefs. 

The  Senecas  afterwards  signed  and  presented  to  the  Legis- 
lature of  the  State  of  New  York,  the  following  petition,  for  the 
purposes  therein  expressed. 


123 


TO    THE    LEGISLATURE    OF    THE    STATE    OF    NEW    YORK. 

The  Petition  of  the  Seneca  Jfaiion  of  Indians. 
Respectfully  represent 

That  the  Seneca  nation,  once  the  powerful  and  courted  ally 
of  sovereign  nations,  have  dwindled  away  into  a  weak  band, 
depending  for  its  very  existence  upon  the  protection  of  the 
General  Government,  and  of  the  State  of  New  York.  Their 
lands  too  have  been  torn  away  from  them,  and  they  stand  now 
only  upon  four  insignificant  parcels  of  the  broad  territory  they 
once  covered  with  their  people.  Of  these  four  reservations, 
two  and  the  best  two,  they  are  told  have  been  sold  by  their 
chiefs  to  the  Ogden  Company,  and  the  Alleghany  and  Cattar- 
augus reservations  yielding  each  individual  of  the  nation  scarce- 
ly twenty-five  acres  a  piece,  are  the  last  of  their  possessions; 

You  are  the  guardians  of  our  nation.  Consider  our  condi- 
tion, and  protect  and  shelter  us.  The  Great  Spirit  made  the 
red  man  as  well  as  the  white  man,  we  are  brothers.  The 
Great  Spirit  looks  down  upon  the  world.  He  will  ask  you, 
'*  where  is  your  weak  red  brother  whom  I  put  in  your  hands 
that  you  might  guide  and  guard  him  ?'' 

We  are  failing  fast,  we  can  find  no  safety  unless  it  be  under 
the  shadow  of  your  Laws.  Our  old  men  have  thought  deep- 
ly,— they  tell  us  so. 

We  are  poor  and  ignorant.  We  know  not  what  will  be  good 
for  us.  We  ask  you  to  think  for  us  and  act  for  us.  We  will 
tell  you  our  griefs  and  our  fears.  We  wish  to  live  in  this  landi 
once  all  our  own,  near  our  white  friends,  who  will  be  the 
friends  of  our  children,  that  they  who  come  after  us  may  look 
out  from  the  dark  places  where  we  have  been  driven,  and 
bring  in  the  lights  of  the  wise  men,  morality,  learning  industry 
and  the  arts ;  that  they  may  become  white  in  soul,  and  your 
people  and  our  people  become  one. 

Let  not  our  lands  be  taken  from  us.  If  our  chiefs  can  sell 
our  lands  the  white  buyer  will  come  to  the  edge  of  our  reser- 
vations with  money,  and  whiskey,  and  promises  of  lands,  and 


124 

will  call  over  the  chiefs,  one  by  one,  and  talk  with  them,  and 
there  will  be  a  council  and  long  talk  :  and  when  the  council 
has  broken  up  chief  after  chief  will  put  his  mark  to  some  paper 
in  the  woods,  or  in  his  Avigwam  or  in  some  grog  shop,  or  law- 
yer's office,  and  our  children  will  have  no  land  to  stand  on. 
These  things  have  been.  Let  them  be  so  no  longer.  The 
humblest  member  of  the  nation  has  as  much  mterest  in  its 
land  as  its  most  powerful  Sachem.  Our  young  men  have  a 
greater  interest  than  our  old  men,  for  they  have  a  longer  time 
to  spend  ere  they  go  to  the  land  of  spirits.  A  few  men  may 
be  corrupted,  but  the  nation  cannot  be,  or  if  it  can,  it  is  not 
worthy  of  protection. 

The  white  man  cuts  our  timber.  The  white  man's  law 
makes  him  pay  money  for  it,  and  puts  the  money  into  some 
other  white  man's  pocket.  Why  not  make  him  pay  it  to  the 
Indian  ,  we  go  into  your  courts,  and  we  are  told,  "  you  cannot 
stay  here,  these  places  are  made  for  white  men,  and  not  for 
you." 

The  land  thief  comes  and  steals  our  land,  and  builds  a  saw- 
mill on  it,  to  saw  the  logs  stolen  from  the  poor  Indian's  land, 
and  we  cannot  bring  the  law  to  drive  him  off. 

Let  your  courts  protect  us  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  our  rights 
as  they  do  the  white  man. 

Give  to  our  nation  the  right  to  sue  for  ^nd  reclaim  in  the 
name  of  "the  Seneca  nation  of  Indians"  the  lands  belonging  to 
us,  and  to  maintain  actions  for  all  and  every  injury  done  to 
them,  or  their  timber  thereon,  as  amply  in  all  respects  as  it  pro- 
vides for  the  white  man,  and  the  protection  of  his  rights  and 
property. 

By  your  laws  if  a  man  approach  one  of  your  Judges,  Sheriff 
or  other  public  officers  with  a  bribe,  to  induce  him  for  money 
to  violate  his  duty,  or  betray  his  trust,  he  is  punished  by  fine 
or  imprisonment. 

Give  us  and  our  nation  the  benefit  of  such  a  law  to  secure 
us,  against  the  intrigue  and  competition  of  the  white  man,  in 
his  attempts  to  corrupt  qnd  defile   our  chiefs,  or  any  of  our 


125 

people.  And  in  fine  do  and  provide  for  us,  by  plain  and 
wholesome  laws  such  as  we  need  and  your  wisdom  may  de- 
cree. 

And  your  petitioners,  as  in  duty  bound,  will  ever  pray,  &c. 
Cattaraugus  Council  House,  January  30,  1845. 

(Signed  by  fifty-five  chiefs.) 

A  Committee  of  the  Senate  appointed  to  consider  the  forego- 
ing petition  made  the  following  report,  whereupon  the  Law  as 
desired  was  duly  passed. 

REPORT 

Of  the  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs  on  the  Assembly  Bill  in 
relation  to  Seneca  Indians. 

Mr.  Hard,  from  the  committee  on  Indian  affairs,  to  which 
was  referred  the  engrossed  bill  from  the  Assembly,  entitled 
"An  act  for  the  protection  and  improvement  of  the  Seneca  In- 
dians, residing  on  the  Cattaraugus  and  Alleghany  reservations, 
in  this  State :" 

REPORTS: 

That  the  committee  have  had  the  same  under  consideration, 
and  have  given  to  it  the  care  and  attention  which  its  import- 
ance seemed  to  demand  and  have  come  to  a  conclusion  favor- 
able to  the  passage  of  the  bill. 

Past  experience  has  abundantly  proved  that  the  native  In- 
dian and  Anglo- American,  cannot,  or  will  not,  unite  by  assimi- 
lation into  one  social  community,  obeying  the  laws  and  adopt- 
ing the  customs  arising  out  of  the  same  civil  compact,  and  of 
consequence  it  has  been  deemed  necessary  for  the  State  Gov- 
ernment ever  since  its  formation,  to  tolerate  and  give  its  legal 
sanction  to  the  estabhshment  of  a  distinct,  and  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, an  independent  community,  in  the  heart  of  our  territorial 
dominions. 

Recognizing  the  principle,  that  no  intelligent  philanthropic 
mind  will  now  dispute,  that  the  native  Indians  are  absolute 
owners  in  allodium,  of  all  the  lands,  until  divested  of  them  by 


126 

their  own  voluntary  act,  the  State  Legislature  has  guarded,  by 
the  most  severe  penal  enactments,  the  rights  of  the  Indian ; 
and  hence,  in  year  1777,  in  the  formation  of  the  first  Constitu- 
tion of  the  State,  so  important  a  matter  was  deemed  the  protec- 
tion of  these  honest  sons  of  the  forest,  from  the  arts  and  in- 
trigues of  their  more  successful  competitors,  that  an  article  was 
inserted  therein,  prohibiting  the  purchase  of  any  of  their  lands 
without  the  consent  of  the  Legislature. 

About  fifty  years   ago  the  Seneca  nation  had  a  constitution, 
prohibiting  the  sale  of  any  of  their  lands  without  the  consent  of 
I      all  the  chiefs  of  that_nationj  and  even  with  this  strong  consti- 
/      tutional  check  on  the  power  of  alienation  then   lodged  with 
/       their  chiefs,  the  white  men  through   the  corrupting  and  stulti- 
/        fying  influence  of  intoxicating  liquors,  found  facilities  for  rob- 
bing: them  of  millions  of  acres  of  their  lands  without  renderino: 
even  a  shadow  of  an  equivalent.     Following  the  example  how- 
ever of  their  civilized  neighbors,  they  modified  their  constitu- 
tion, and  adopted  the  majority  rule,  which  for  a  time  controlled 
their  sales,  requiring  only  a  majority  of  the  chiefs  assenting  to 
give  validity  to  sale.     This  rule  continued  until  the  31st  Janu- 
ary, 1S45,  when  the  nation  or  the  miserable  remnant  of  the 
ancient  Seneca  nation,  in  a  council  of  their  chiefs,  again  modi- 
fied the  constitution,  wherein  they  declared  the  sale  or  transfer 
of  any  lands  null  and  void  unless  it  received  the  assent  of  two- 
thirds  of  all  the  warriors,  chiefs  and  adult  male  citizens  of  the 
nation.     This  constitutional  ordinance   of  the  chiefs  has  been 
duly  authenticated  and  filed  with  the  Secretary  of  State,  a  copy 
of  which  accompanies  this  report.    [See  pages  121,  122.] 

The  third  section  of  the  law  under  consideration  is  intended 
to  give  a  legislative  sanction  or  recognition  of  this  modified 
constitution. 

This  section,  and  the  eighth  section,  are  the  only  parts  of  the 
bill  which  meet  with  serious  opposition,  and  that  opposition  is 
interposed  solely  by  the  Ogden  Company,  (so  called,)  as  will 
appear  by  the  accompanying  remonstrance,  signed  by  Joseph 
Fellows,  who  represents  himself  as  the  surviving  trustee  of  the 
company. 


127 

The  remonstrants  claim  to  be  the  rightful  owners  of  the  pre- 
emption right  of  soil  of  the  two  aforesaid  reservations,  and  com- 
plain that  the  bill  in  question  if  it  becomes  a  law  will  interfere 
with  this  pre-emption  right.  It  is  the  misfortune  of  these,  that 
although  they  are  the  most  interested  party  in  this  whole  mat- 
ter, they  are  not  allowed  a  participation  in  any  legislation  in 
regard  to  it.  The  voice  of  the  red  man  is  not  heard  either  in 
the  Senate  or  the  forum,  and  of  course  can  have  no  direct  in- 
fluence in  the  making  or  the  administering  of  the  laws.  They 
are  dependent  entirely  for  aid  in  all  their  matters  upon  the  in- 
tervention of  friends,  whose  services  are  gratuitously  bestowed. 

Mr.  Pierce,  one  of  the  Seneca  chiefs,  an  intelligent  and  sa- 
gacious man,  who  seems  to  take  a  deep  interest  in  the  moral 
and  intellectual  welfare  of  his  people,  has  attended  durino-  the 
session  of  this  Legislature  as  an  agent  of  that  nation,  and  has 
afforded  to  the  committee  much  useful  information  touching 
the  subject  of  this  bill.  He  has  consulted  some  of  the  ablest 
legal  counsel  in  the  State,  and  has  obtained  from  one,  the  late 
Secretary  of  War,  a  written  opinion  in  regard  to  the  soundness 
of  the  company's  objections  to  the  provisions  of  the  bill,  which 
the  committee  beg  leave  to  adopt  as  a  part  of  their  report,  as  it 
very  fully  presents  the  history  of  the  right  and  title  claimed  by 
the  Ogden  Company,  as  well  as  the  legal  character  and  extent 
of  that  claim. 

Opinion  of  the  Hon.  John   C.  Spencer. 

"  It  is  understood  that  objections  are  made  by  Joseph  Fel- 
lows, Esq.,  and  others,  belonging  to  what  is  called  the  '  Ogden 
Company,'  to  the  third  and  eighth  sections  of  the  bill  entitled 
'  An  act  for  the  protection  and  improvement  of  the  Seneca  In- 
dians, residing  on  the  Cattaraugus  and  Alleghany  reservations, 
in  this  State." 

The  objection  to  the  third  section  is,  that  it  interferes  with 
the  vested  rights  of  the  Ogden  Company,  who  had  the  pre- 
emptive right  to  purchase  from  the  Senecas  their  reservation. 
By  the  convention  between  the  State  of  New  York  and  the 


128 

commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  made  at  Hartford  on  the  six- 
teenth day  of  December,  1788,  the  State  of  New  York  ceded 
to  the  commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  "  to  the  use  of  the  said 
commonwealth,  their  grantees,  and  the  heirs  and  assigns  of 
such  grantees  forever,  the  right  of  pre-emption  of  the  soil  from 
the  native  Indians,  and  all  other  the  estate,  right,  title  and 
property  which  the  State  of  New  York  had  in,  and  to  the 
lands"  lying  west  of  the  Seneca  Lake.  By  the  ninth  clause 
of  the  convention,  the  commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  was 
authorised  to  hold  treaties  and  conferences  with  the  native  In- 
dians relative  to  the  property  or  right  of  soil  of  the  land  ceded. 
The  tenth  clause  is  as  follows:  "  The  commonwealth  of  Mas- 
sachusetts may  grant  the  right  of  pre-emption  of  the  whole  or 
any  part  of  the  said  lands  and  territories,  to  any  person  or  per- 
sons, who  by  virtue  of  such  grant  shall  have  good  right  to  ex- 
tinguish by  purchase  the  claims  of  the  native  Indians ;  pro- 
vided, however,  that  no  purchase  from  the  native  Indians,  by 
any  such  grantee,  or  grantees,  shall  be  valid,  unless  the  same 
shall  be  made  in  the  presence  of,  and  approved  by,  a  superin- 
tendent to  be  appointed  for  such  purpose  by  the  common- 
wealth of  Massachusetts,  and  having  no  interest  in  such  pur- 
chase, and  unless  such  purchase  be  confirmed  by  the  common- 
wealth of  Massachusetts." 

This  State  always  asserted  the  right,  and  acknowledged  the 
duty  of  protecting  the  Indians  within  its  limits,  from  frauds  and 
imposition;  and  in  the  thirty- seventh  article  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  1777,  it  was  provided  that  no  purchase  or  contracts  for 
the  sale  of  lands  made  with  or  of  Indians  within  the  limits  of 
this  State,  should  be  binding  on  the  said  Indians,  or  deemed 
valid  unless  made  under  the  authority  and  with  the  consent  of 
the  Legislature  of  this  State. 

The  cession  of  the  commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  and  the 
stipulation  authorising  the  commonwealth  to  grant  to  any  per- 
son the  right  of  pre-emption — that  is,  as  expressed  in  the  ces- 
sion, the  right  to  extinguish  by  purchase  the  claims  of  the  na* 
five  Indians,  are  to  be  regarded  as  conferring  the  authority  and 


129 


giving  the  consent  of  the  Legislature,  that  the  grantees  of  Mas- 
sachusetts might  by  purchase  extinguish  the  Indian  title. 

This  consent  did  not,  and  could  not,  from  its  nature,  transfer 
to,  or  vest  in  the  grantees  from  Massachusetts,  any  right  or 
interest  in  the  Indian  claims;  it  was  an  inchoate  executory 
authority  to  purchase.  It  merely  confined  and  restricted  to 
particular  individuals  a  privilege,  which  might  have  been  given 
to  all  the  citizens  of  the  State.  The  nature  of  this  privilege 
must  be  the  same,  whether  confined  to  a  few  or  extended  to 
aU.  And  it  is  conceived  that  those  who  possess  it,  have  pre- 
cisely the  same  right  to  purchase  of  Indians,  which  any  citizen 
has  to  purchase  of  another  citizen,  and  neither  more  nor  less. 
With  respect  to  them,  a  disability  imposed  by  the  Constitution, 
is  removed,  and  they  stand  exactly  as  if  no  such  prohibition 
had  been  imposed.  They  have  acquired  nothing  but  that 
which  every  citizen  would  have  possessed  in  the  absence  of 
any  constitutional  or  legal  prohibition. 

If  this  view  be  correct,  and  no  reason  is  furnished  to  doubt 
it,  the  Legislature  of  the  State  must  necessarily  possess  the 
same  authority,  to  prescribe  the  manner  of  purchase,  and  the 
form  of  conveyance,  in  relation  to  the  sale  by  Indians  of  their 
interest  in  lands,  as  it  would  possess  in  relation  to  sales  of  real 
estate  by  other  inhabitants  of  the  States — the  same  authority  as 
if  no  prohibition  had  ever  existed.  It  could  require  the  bar- 
gain to  be  reduced  to  writing,  to  be  executed  in  the  presence 
of  witnesses,  and  to  be  sealed  by  the  parties.  And  if  any  pe- 
culiar reasons  existed  for  extraordinary  precaution,  arising  from 
the  supposed  incapacity  of  any  parties,  the  Legislature  might 
require  an  acknowledgment  before  a  competent  ofBcer,  made 
apart  from  persons  who  might  be  supposed  to  exercise  an  un- 
due influence.  And  upon  the  same  principle,  other  guards 
and  restrictions  to  secure  fair  dealing  must  not  only  be  within 
the  competency  of  the  Legislature,  but  must  often  be  among  its 
highest  and  most  imperative  duties. 

With  what  propriety  could  any  citizen  having  the  undoubted 
right  to  purchase  lands,  object  to  such  or  similar  restrictions 
17 


130 

and  guards  upon  the  power  to  sell  by  any  other  citizen  ?  The 
rio-ht  of  purchase  must,  like  all  other  social  and  political  rights, 
be  subject  to  the  general  and  supreme  authority  of  the  State,  to 
prevent  frauds  and  secure  justice.  And  it  is  not  perceived 
how  any  law  passed  in  good  faith  for  such  a  purpose,  can  be 
said  to  impair  the  right  of  purchase,  which  citizens  at  large  or 
any  select  few  possess.  It  will  not  be  claimed  that  either  a 
general  or  special  right  to  purchase  is  a  right  to  circumvent, — 
to  obtain  property  for  trifling  or  inadequate  considerations ;  and 
if  it  be  not,  it  cannot  be  impaired  by  legislative  provisions  in- 
tended and  calculated  to  prevent  imposition,  and  secure  the 
full  value  of  what  may  be  purchased. 

Such  is  the  character  of  the  provision  in  the  third  section  of 
the  bill  under  consideration.  The  property,  interest  or  claims 
to  which  it  relates  are  national, — they  belong  to  the  Seneca 
nation  of  Indians  collectively.  While  they  are  of  great  value 
to  the  whole  nation,  the  interest  of  an  individual  chief  is  com- 
paratively small,  and  may  be  easily  over-balanced  by  a  direct 
pecuniary  consideration  to  himself.  His  personal  and  private 
interest  may  thus  be  brought  into  dangerous  conflict  with  his 
public  trust  and  duty,  as  a  chief, — as  a  father  of  his  nation. 
Surely  an  exigency  is  thus  presented  requiring  an  extraordi- 
nary guard,  and  what  check  or  restriction  upon  improvidence, 
not  to  say  venality  of  Indian  chiefs,  can  be  more  just,  reasona- 
ble and  effectual  than  that  which  our  own  Constitution  has 
adopted  to  prevent  the  improper  disposition  of  the  public  pro- 
perty for  local  or  private  purposes,  by  those  holding  legislative 
trusts  in  our  State  ?  This  remark  is  made  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  by  the  example,  that  such  a  provision  is  in  itself  rea- 
sonable, and  a  fair  and  legitimate  exercise  of  the  power  to  pre- 
vent frauds. 

The  third  section  adopts  and  sanctions  the  arrangement  made 
by  the  Seneca  nation,  among  themselves,  requiring  the  assent 
of  two-thirds  of  their  chiefs  in  council  assembled  to  the  transfer 
of  their  national  property,  of  the  small  remnant  left  of  their 
once  mighty  possessions.     Without  a  legislative  sanction,  it  is 


131 

liable  to  be  repealed  by  the  same  majority  which  may  exist  at 
any  time  in  favor  of  a  sale  of  their  reservations.  Hence  the 
Seneca  Indians,  being  now  united  on  this  question,  ask  of  the 
Legislature  to  give  force  and  effect  to  what  they  wish  to  make  a 
fundamental  constitutional  provision,  but  which  cannot  otherwise 
be  made  such.  Regarded  as  the  pupils  and  wards  of  the  State, 
which  has  always  exercised  a  paternal  care  over  them,  which 
has  constantly  shielded  them  by  special  legislation  from  the 
consequences  of  their  own  imperfections,  and  the  insidious  de- 
signs of  white  men,  and  which  looks  upon  them  as  incapable 
of  competing  with  the  arts  of  civilized  men,  they  ask  that  this 
guard  may  be  thrown  around  them,  to  insure  deliberation  and 
unanimity.  They  complain  that  recently  the  assent  of  some 
chiefs  to  a  disposition  of  the  national  property  has  been  pro- 
cured of  them  individually  in  private,  and  not  in  council,  and 
they  are  anxious  to  put  an  end  to  a  practice  that  exposes  them 
to  such  situations  and  such  hazards,  and  endangers  their  do- 
mestic peace.  Can  any  thing  be  more  reasonable  and  more 
just.  Ought  it  to  be  objected  to  by  any  one  wishing  to  deal 
fairly  and  honestly  with  them  ?  Would  a  syllable  be  heard 
against  it  if  the  right  to  purchase  of  them  was  open  to  every 
citizen  of  the  State  } 

If  then  the  provisions  of  this  third  section  are  in  themselves 
just,  if  they  are  a  fair  exercise  of  the  Legislative  power  to  pre- 
vent frauds  and  secure  justice  in  bargains  betw^een  inhabitants 
of  this  State,  and  if  they  are  peculiarly  appropriate  and  adapted 
to  the  condition  of  an  unfortunate  race,  whom  we  are  bound 
by  the  most  imperative  considerations  to  protect,  how  can  they 
impair  any  rignt  of  fair  and  honest  purchase  ? 

It  is  intimated,  in  the  memorial  of  Mr.  Fellows,  that  the 
usual  mode  of  purshasing  or  extinguishing  the  Indian  title,  has 
been  by  treaty  at  a  council,  at  Avhich  a  majority  of  those  pre- 
sent controlled.  This  is  doubted  as  a  historical  fact.  On  the 
face  of  the  contracts  made  with  the  Indians  under  treaties,  it 
would  appear  that  they  expressed  the  united  sentiment  of  the 
nation.     Hence  many  of  the  treaties  and   contracts  are  signed 


132 

by  a  tew  chiefs,  and  not  one-fourth  of  the  whole  number. 
They  signed  as  representatives — delegates,  expressing  the  sense 
of  their  whole  nation — and  not  individually.  It  is  doubted 
whether  the  Indians  have  known  or  been  governed  by  the  ma- 
jority rule,  and  it  is  believed  that  in  their  deliberations  they 
have  endeavored  to  ascertain  the  general  sense  of  their  coun- 
cils, and  when  ascertained  it  became  the  unanimous  and  united 
sense.  And  it  is  believed  that  this  idea  of  a  mere  majority  is 
of  very  recent  date,  not  earher  than  the  year  1838,  and  that  it 
is  in  itself  an  innovation.  As  it  conforms  to  the  customs  and 
habits  of  the  whites  on  ordinary  occasions,  it  has  been  received 
among  them,  as  a  rule  for  the  Indians.  The  Senecas  say  that 
it  is  not  a  sale  rule  for  them,  that  it  does  not  afford  them  suffi- 
cient security  against  improvidence  or  venality.  And  they 
impose  upon  themselves  a  rule  requiring  the  assent  of  two- 
thirds  of  their  chiefs  in  council.  It  is  not  understood  that  any 
objection  is  made  on  the  part  of  the  Ogden  Company  to  the 
Senecas  furnishing  to  themselves  the  conditions,  manner  and 
form  in  which  they  will  sell  their  ov/n  property.  It  would 
scarcely  be  urged  by  intelligent  men,  that  the  right  of  pur- 
chase is  so  comprehensive  as  to  destroy  all  discretion  and  op- 
tion in  the  sellers.  The  objection  then  is  not,  for  it  could  not 
be,  to  the  Seneca  Indians  making  a  law  for  themselves  in  re- 
spect to  the  subject  in  which  they  are  a  sovereign  nation, — 
but  it  is  to  that  law  being  made  effectual — being  made  some- 
thing more  than  waste  paper,  by  the  legislative  authority  of  the 
State.  But  surely  the  confirmation  of  a  law  in  itself  right  and 
just,  cannot  be  otherwise  than  right  and  just;  it  can  have  no 
other  character  than  its  original. 

With  respect  to  the  eighth  section,  it  is  impossible  to  per- 
ceive what  objection  ^of  a  legal  character  can  be  made  to  it. 
Chiefs  are  nominated  by  families  to  the  tribes  or  other  families, 
and  if  approved  by  them  and  by  the  council  of  chiefs,  they  are 
admitted.  This  is  the  usual  course.  But  among  people  not 
very  strict  in  the  observance  of  forms,  irregularities  will  occur, 
and  innovation  causes  other  and  greater  irregularities.     In  the 


133 

system  of  self-government  proposed  by  the  bill,  it  will  be  im- 
possible to  advance  a  single  step  without  the  means  of  deter- 
mining who  constitute  the  great  council  of  the  nation — its 
chiefs ;  and  unless  means  are  provided  for  a  probable  determi- 
nation, it  will  be  made  by  force  and  violence,  or  the  whole 
system  will  be  broken  up.  Mr.  Fellows'  memorial  admits  that 
purchases  are  to  be  made  of  the  Indians  through  their  cheifs. 
How  can  the  right  to  purchase  be  impaired  by  a  legal  mode  of 
determining  who  are  such  chiefs?  And  what  better  mode 
can  be  devised  than  the  one  proposed  ?  So  lar  from  obstruct- 
ing or  impairing  a  fair  and  honest  purchase,  it  would  be  facili- 
tated by  ascertaining  with  certainty  the  agents  authorised  to 
make  the  sale.  The  very  first  preliminary  in  all  treaties  is  an 
exchange  of  powers,  that  each  party  may  know  they  are  treat- 
ing w^ith  those  competent  to  act.  To  leave  the  official  charac- 
ter of  those  claiming  to  be  chiefs,  in  doubt, — to  open  the  door 
to  all  sorts  of  claimants,  might  promote  purposes  of  fraud,  but 
would  perplex  and  defeat  honest  negotiation." 

The  committee  fully  concur  in  the  views  presented  by  that 
distinguished  jurist  and  constitutional  lawyer.  And  believing 
as  they  do,  that  the  bill  is  both  constitutional  and  expedient, 
and  in  none  of  its  provisions  substantially  calculated  to  infringe 
upon  any  vested  rights  of  the  company,  and  believing  too,  that 
if  it  becomes  a  law,  its  provisions  will  effectually  promote  the 
civil  and  intellectual  prosperity  of  that  hitherto  oppressed  and 
defrauded  people,  they  feel  constrained  to  recommend  its  pas- 
sage into  a  law." 

Upon  receipt  of  this  report,  the  Legislature  proceeded  to  pass 
an  act,  entitled  "  an  act  for  the  protection  and  improvement  of 
the  Seneca  Indians,  residing  on  the  Cattaraugus  and  Allegany 
Reservations  in  this  State."  This  act  was  carefully  drawn,  and, 
while  it  provided  for  the  Senecas,  a  mild  municipal  govern- 
ment, the  powers  of  which  were  to  be  executed  by  themselves, 
it  also  embraced  two  very  important  objects — the  protection  of 
their  timber,  and  the  total  exclusion  of  spirituous  liquors  from 
their  villages. 


134 

At  the  time  this  bill  was  before  the  Legislature  at  Albany, 
a  delegation  of  Friends  attended  to  the  concern  there,  and  had 
several  interviews  with  the  Governor  and  committees  of  both 
housess  to  explain  the  situation  of  the  Indians,  and  the  grounds 
of  their  present  application,  and  rendered  such  other  aid  and 
advice  as  circumstances  made  necessar3^ 

That  body  manifested  an  interest  and  feeling  for  the  Indians 
within  their  limits,  highly  gratifying  to  the  delegation,  and 
honorable  to  the  state.  Indeed,  the  uniform  justice  and  com- 
passion of  the  Commonwealth  of  New  York,  toward  the  Six 
nations,  who  were  located  on  its  territory,  presents  in  retro- 
spect one  of  the  most  pleasant  scenes  on  the  pages  of  our  histo- 
ry. When  the  Senate  of  New  York,  in  the  spring  of  1842, 
understood  that  a  treaty  was  to  be  held  at  Buffalo,  under  the 
authority  of  the  General  Government,  and  having  relation  to 
their  lands, — they,  without  any  solicitation  from  the  Indians, 
or  from  Friends,  delegated  Abraham  Dixon,  one  of  their 
number,  to  attend  the  Council,  held  on  that  occasion.  An 
address  which  he  made  at  that  time,  gives  a  fair  and  deeply 
interesting  sketch  of  the  conduct  of  his  state,  in  relation  to  the 
Indians.  ''You  know,"  said  he,  in  an  adderss  to  the  Chiefs, 
"  that  this  State  has  always  treated  the  Indians  with  justice 
and  humanity.  We  have  enacted  laws  for  your  protection  and 
benefit, — granted  you  liberal  annuities,  and  paid  them  punctu- 
ally. We  have  never  taken  from  the  red  man  his  lands,  but 
by  honorable  purchase,  and  a  fair  equivalent.  The  people  of 
the  state  have  deeply  sympathized  with  you  in  your  difficulties 
with  the  Ogden  Company,  in  relation  to  your  lands.  The 
Legislature  participated  in  this  feeling,  and  while  they  had  the 
subject  under  consideration,  the  last  winter,  they  were  rejoiced 
to  learn  that  a  door  had  been  opened,  by  which  you  might  es- 
cape from  dangers,  which  you  and  others  thought,  awaited  you; 
and  they  sent  me  to  be  present  on  this  occosion,  to  give  you 
such  advice  and  assistance  as  I  could." 

Subsequently,  the  Legislature  of  New  York  has  extended 
the  oreneral  benefits  of  the  school  system  to  the  Indians,  yet 


135 

remaining  within  the  State,  and  have  appropriated  liberal  funds 
to  erect  the  necessary  school  houses,  and  pay  qualified  teach- 
ers to  instruct  the  Indian  children. 

In  the  sixth  month,  this  year,  1845,  the  General  Committee 
on  Indian  affairs  appointed  a  delegation  of  men  and  women 
Friends,  to  visit  the  Indians,  and  to  have  a  conference  with 
them  in  relation  to  several  subjects  deeply  affecting  their 
future  welfare.  The  principal  concern  of  Friends  at  this 
time,  related  to  the  condition  of  their  females.  The  old  Indian 
custom  of  employing  them  in  the  fields  was  yet  continued.  It 
was  clearly  seen  that  the  civilization  of  the  tribe,  could  never 
be  fully  perfected  under  such  a  system.  It  was  a  subject  of 
some  difficulty,  arising  from  the  inveteracy  of  long-continued 
habits,  but  it  was  believed  that  little  further  progress  could  be 
made  towards  a  higher  state  of  society,  until  this  custom  should 
be  broken,  and  the  women  be  more  confined  to  the  cares  and 
employments  of  domestic  life. 

This  council  was  opened  af  Cattaraugus,  on  the  15th  of  the 
7th  month,  1845,  with  a  few  introductory  remarks  by  a  mem- 
ber of  the  committee ;  upon  which  Daniel  Two  Guns,  a  chief 
at  the  Cattaraugus  reservation  rose,  and  on  behalf  of  the  Seneca 
nation,  expressed  gratitude  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  committee  during  their  long  journey,  and  the  great 
satisfaction  it  afforded  the  Senecas  once  more  to  meet  their 
friends  in  council.  After  these  preliminary  remarks  he  inform- 
ed the  committee  that  the  chiefs  were  now  ready  to  hear 
whatever  we  might  desire  to  say  to  them. 

A  member  of  the  committee  then  addressed  the  council  as 
follows : — 
Brothers ! 

"  On  considering  the  situation  in  which  you  have  been 
placed  by  the  important  change  that  has  been  adopted  in  rela- 
tion to  the  tenure  of  your  land,  as  well  as  in  regard  to  your 
social  condition  and  civil  rights,  your  friends  have  believed  that 
it  would  be  proper  to  have  a  conference  with  you,   respecting 


136 

some  matters  which  they  apprehend  deeply  concern  your  future 
happiness  and  prosperity :  they  have  therefore  requested  you 
to  meet  them,  at  this  time,  in  the  present  council. 

"  Having,  after  much  labor  and  perseverance,  secured  to  you 
the  possession  of  your  remaining  land,  and  with  your  co-opera- 
tion, succeeded  in  placing  the  title  in  a  situation  which  will  put 
it  out  of  the  power  of  any  one  to  deprive  you  of  it,  except 
with  your  own  consent;  the  object  originally  undertaken  by 
the  joint  committee  of  the  four  Yearly  Meetings  of  Friends  has 
been  accomplished,  and  we  might  therefore  now  dissolve  our 
connection,  and  withdraw  from  you.  You  are  the  undisputed 
owners  of  the  homes  that  have  been  restored  to  you,  and  have 
been  taught  how  to  cultivate  your  farms ;  and  such  of  you  as 
have  been  industrious  and  prudent,  have  acquired  a  practical 
experience  of  the  advantages  of  relying  on  this  means  of  sub- 
sistence, in  preference  to  an  uncertain  dependence  upon  hunt- 
ing, even  were  there  game  within  your  reach. 

"  It  was  the  design  of  the  Great  Spirit  that  men  should  labor, 
and  not  pass  their  lives  in  idleness ;  it  is  therefore  our  duty  to 
be  employed  in  doing  something  for  our  own  subsistence,  and 
for  the  benefit  of  the  community  in  which  we  live.  Even 
among  the  white  people,  where  any  persist  in  a  life  of  idleness, 
they  generally  fall  into  bad  health  and  vicious  habits,  which  in 
the  end,  mostly  bring  poverty  and  disgrace  on  them  and  their 
families.  The  same  will  happen  to  you,  should  you  be  so 
unwise  as  to  spend  your  time  in  sloth  and  indolence  ; — Believe 
us,  there  is  nothing  but  steady  industry  and  correct  moral  de- 
portment, that  can  render  your  situation  a  comfortable  one,  or 
preserve  the  small  remnant  now  left  of  the  Seneca  nation,  from 
utter  destruction. 

''Brothers  !  We  need  not  remind  you  that  the  Senecas 
were  once  a  very  numerous  and  powerful  people,  and  that  your 
tribe  has  produced  some  very  eminent  and  illustrious  men, 
whose  names  are  incorporated  into  the  history  of  our  country, 
and  will  never  be  forgotten  while  that  history  is  preserved. 
The  confederacy  to  which  you  belong,  held  the  country  be- 


137 

tween  Lake  Erie  southward,  as  far  as  to  the  tide  waters  of  the 
Susquehanna  and  Delaware  rivers,  and  eastwardly  along  the 
shores  of  the  Iroquois  to  the  Horicon  Lake.  You  cannot  be 
unacquainted  with  the  causes  which  have  reduced  you  to  your 
present  feeble  and  impoverished  condition — these  causes  may 
easily  be  enumerated — they  may  clearly  be  traced  to  the  idle- 
ness and  intemperance  of  your  men !  and  if  persisted  in,  they  j 
will  go  on  rapidly  to  destroy  the  remnant  yet  left  of  your  peo- 
ple, so  that  in  a  few  years  more,  the  council  fire  of  the  Senecas 
would  forever  be  extinguished. 

"  Idleness  and  vice  are  so  closely  allied  that  they  cannot  be 
separated — or  in  other  words,  an  idle  man  is  always  subject  to 
fall  into  vicious  habits,  while  an  industrious  employment  of  our 
time  in  some  useful  occupation,  improves  our  health,  gives 
vigor  and  strength  to  the  body,  and  promotes  the  growth  of 
virtuous  principles  in  the  mind.  We  therefore  earnestly  repeat 
to  you,  that  if  you  desire  to  be  prosperous  and  happy,  you 
must  root  out  idleness  from  amongst  you : — a  man  who  will 
not  labor  in  some  way  for  the  support  of  himself,  and  for  his 
family,  if  he  has  one,  can  be  of  no  use,  but  must  be  an  incum- 
brance on  the  community  in  which  he  lives. 

"  We  have  on  several  occasions  heretofore  stated  to  you,  that 
we  believed  it  was  necessary  a  change  should  take  place  in  the 
apportionment  and  distribution  of  labor  among  you ;  we  are 
satisfied  the  time  has  arrived  when  this  change  has  become  in- 
dispensable to  your  comfort,  and  indeed  we  are  convinced  that 
circumstanced  as  you  now  are,  the  existence  of  the  Seneca 
nation  cannot  be  maintained,  unless  the  change  proposed  is 
made. 

"  You  say  you  desire  to  raise  yourselves  to  the  condition  of 
a  civilized,  intelligent  people  ;  can  you  reasonably  expect  to 
do  this,  while  your  wives  and  daughters  continue  to  be  employ- 
ed in  thp  menial  labor  to  which  they  have  so  long  been  sub- 
jected? We  tell  you  plainly  it  will  be  impossible,  and  that 
there  is  not  now  in  the  whole  world,  nor  has  there  ever  been, 
any  nation  or  people,  who  held  their  women  in  a  state  of  servile 
18 


i 


138 

dependence,  and  imposed  upon  them  the  severe  drudgeries  of 
hard  labor,  that  ever  were  or  ever  could  be  civilized.  It  is  the 
peculiar  characteristic  of  savages,  and  not  of  civiUzed  men,  to 
treat  their  women  in  this  way :  and  besides,  it  is  perverting  the 
wise  order  and  purposes  of  Providence,  and  ought  not  to  be 
tolerated. 

"  How  can  you  expect  that  your  wives  can  rear  civilized, 
intelligent  children,  when  they  themselves  are  left  without 
education,  and  are  kept  in  a  state  of  degraded  ignorance  ? — 
Surely  such  mothers  can  only  rear  ignorant  and  barbarous 
children  !  Do  you  not  know  that  it  is  to  mothers  we  are  to 
look  for  the  necessary  care  and  instruction,  in  cultivating  the 
seeds  of  virtue,  and  every  noble  principle,  in  the  breasts  of 
children  ?  If  then  you  desire  to  see  your  offspring  intelligent 
and  virtuous,  let  their  mothers,  by  suitable  employments  and 
education,  be  qualified  to  give  them  the  proper  training  and  in- 
struction to  render  them  so. 

*'It  is  now  many  years  since  we  first  began  our  efforts  to  be 
useful  to  our  Indian  brethren ;  we  saw  that  their  numbers  were 
daily  diminishing  under  the  many  hardships  and  sufferings  to 
which  they  were  exposed,  and  that  unless  something  could  be 
done  to  improve  their  condition.,  the  whole  race  would,  at  no 
distant  day,  be  swept  from  existence ;  and  remembering  the 
friendship  that  had  subsisted  between  our  fathers  when  they 
first  came  to  this  country,  and  your  fathers,  we  felt  our  hearts 
warmed  with  pity  towards  you,  and  believed  it  to  be  our  duty  to 
give  you  such  advice  and  assistance,  as  we  might  be  able  to 
render,  in  the  hope,  that  by  instructing  you  in  the  ways  by 
which  we  obtain  a  comfortable  support,  we  might,  by  the 
aid  of  the  Great  Spirit,  become  instrumental  in  bettering  your 
condition,  and  averting  the  ruin  that  seemed  to  threaten  you ; 
it  must  be  acknowledged  that  in  the  course  of  our  labors  we 
have  met  with  much  to  discourage  us ;  we  are  sensible  that 
many  of  the  difficulties  we  have  encounterted,  have  arisen  from 
the  insecurity  of  the  tenure  by  which  your  lands  were  held — 
this  difficulty  so  far  as  regards  you,  is  now  happily  removed-— 


139 

you  are  by  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  acknowledged  to  be 
the  indisputable  owners  of  the  land  that  has  been  restored  to 
you,  as  long  as  you  may  choose  to  hold  it — the  same  assurance 
has  been  given  to  you  by  the  United  States  and  by  the  State 
of  Massachusetts — a  clear  and  well  defined  regulation  has  been 
established,  by  which  alone,  these  lands  can  hereafter  be  alien- 
ated, and  by  which  you  are  protected  against  fraud — you  are, 
by  law,  recognized  as  a  political  body — the  courts  of  law  are 
opened  to  redress  your  grievancess,  hould  any  occur,  and  com- 
petent counsel  has  been  provided  to  see  that  justice  will  be 
done  you — a  wise  system  of  municipal  government,  adapted  to 
your  necessities,  has  been  provided  for  you,  and  you  have  now 
only  to  avail  yourselves  of  these  important  advantages,  and 
j  udiciously  exercise  the  powers  that  have  been  conferred  upon 
you — be  sober  and  industrious,  change  your  system  as  regards 
the  employments  of  your  females,  and  elevate  them,  by  a  suit- 
able education  and  treatment,  to  the  position  they  ought  to  oc- 
cupy, and  your  prosperity  Avill  then  be  placed  upon  a  firm  and 
permanent  basis. 

"  One  of  the  principal  objects  of  our  present  visit  is,  to  en- 
deavor to  impress  upon  you  the  importance  of  these  measures, 
and  above  all,  the  absolute  necessity  of  your  adopting  a  differ- 
ent course  from  that  you  have  heretofore  pursued,  in  regard 
to  the  division  of  labor  among  you ;  and  we  tell  you  plainly, 
that  it  is  our  settled  opinion,  unless  you  consent  to  this,  all  our 
labors  to  benefit  you,  will,  in  the  end,  fail.  Indeed,  without 
the  change  now  proposed,  our  hopes  of  being  able  to  avert  the 
evils  which  must  follow  your  present  course,  would  be  extin- 
guished, and  all  prospect  of  our  doing  you  any  good  would  be 
at  an  end.  In  that  event  we  would  prefer  to  withdraw  from 
you,  rather  than  by  remaining  near,  be  obliged  to  witness  the 
ruin  which  we  believe  would  come  upon  you. 

"But  we  hope  better  things  for  you — we  hope  you  will 
listen  to  the  advice  we  have  given  you — that  your  men  will 
now  settle  themselves  permanently  at  the  homes  v/hich  cannot 
be  taken  from  them,  and  that  they  will  diligently  apply  them- 


140 

selves  to  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  their  farms — that 
you  will  withdraw  your  females  from  the  labors  of  the  field  and 
other  employments  not  adapted  to  the  delicacy  of  their  sex — 
that  you  will  give  them  suitable  educations,  leave  them  to  be 
occupied  in  the  care  and  business  of  their  household  affairs, 
and  place  them  in  a  condition  to  become  your  prudent  advisers 
and  useful  companions.  You  will  then  find  them  wise  coun- 
sellors and  true  friends. 

"  As  we  have  here  before  told  you,  our  object  in  uniting  our 
efforts  was,  to  secure  for  you  a  home  that  could  not,  without 
your  consent,  be  taken  from  you, — that  has  been  done  as  effec- 
tually as,  under  all  circumstances,  could  be  expected  ;  this 
being  accomplished,  and  our  original  purpose  effected,  we 
might  now  be  justified  in  withdrawing,  and  leave  you  to  walk 
alone ;  but  upon  considering  your  situation,  it  has  appeared  to 
us,  that  you  still  stand  in  need  of  some  help,  not  as  regards  the 
cultivation  of  your  land,  because  this  you  already  understand, 
and  can  readily  do,  if  you  are  disposed  to  be  industrious  ;  but 
we  believe  you  still  require  assistance,  in  the  education  of  your 
children,  and  instructing  your  females  in  the  employments 
which,  we  believe,  they  should  hereafter  be  engaged.  If  you 
approve  of  these  meaures,  and  it  be  your  wish  we  should  in 
this  manner  assist  you,  we  are  disposed  to  continue  our  efforts  to 
do  so,  by  continuing  the  school  amongst  you,  where  as  many  of 
your  children  as  you  may  be  inclined  to  send,  may  be  taught  to 
read  and  write,  and  also  be  instructed  in  such  higher  branches  of 
learning  as  circumstances  may  admit  of.  In  addition  to  this,  we 
propose  to  continue  to  receive  into  the  family  of  the  Friends  we 
may  place  to  reside  among  you,  as  many  of  your  young  women 
as  can  be  accommodated,  and  there  instruct  them  in  all  the 
branches  of  female  employments,  which  will  be  necessary  to 
enable  them  to  become  good  housekeepers,  and  suitable  com- 
panions of  intelligent  and  industrious  husbands,  and  quaUfy 
them  to  train  up  their  children  in  habits  and  principles  which 
will  render  them  respectable,  good  citizens. 


141 

*'  We  have  deemed  it  proper  on  this  occasion,  to  open  our 
minds  freely  to  you,  in  order  that  there  may  be  a  clear  under- 
standing between  us.  You^  cannot  doubt  that  our  purpose  is  to 
do  you  all  the  good  we  can,  and  it  is  proper  you  should  be 
plainly  informed  of  our  views.  It  will  not  be  in  our  power  to 
effect  any  thing  for  your  benefit,  without  your  cordial  and  zeal- 
ous co-operation — We  can  do  no  more  than  point  the  way  in 
which  we  think  you  ought  to  go,  and  it  will  be  for  you  to  say,  if 
you  will  walk  in  it ;  or  if  you  will  prefer  to  travel  along  the  down- 
ward path  in  which  you  have  so  long  wandered,  and  which 
has  already  led  you  to  the  brink  of  ruin,  and  if  persisted  in, 
must  finally  lead  to  your  extinction.  As  regards  ourselves,  we 
have,  under  the  influence  of  a  sincere  desire  for  your  welfare, 
given  you  the  b^st  advice  in  our  power — we  shall  now  wait  to 
receive  your  answer,  and  will  carry  back  your  words  to  our 
friends,  who  have  delegated  us  to  hold  this  conference  with 
you." 

This  address  was  carefully  interpreted,  and  was  listened  to 
by  the  chiefs  with  marked  attention.  After  a  short  conversa- 
tion among  themselves,  a  chief  rose,  and  informed  the  commit- 
tee that  the  subjects  proposed  by  Friends  would  receive  a  de- 
liberate and  careful  consideration,  and  that  when  prepared,  the 
chiefs  would  return  their  answer. 

Upon  this,  the  committee  withdrew,  and  left  the  chiefs  in 
earnest  deliberation  upon  the  matters  that  had  been  proposed 
to  them. 

On  the  following  morning,  soon  after  the  Council  had  been 
convened,  a  deputation  waited  on  the  committee,  and  invited 
them  to  attend.  After  some  pause,  and  a  short  conference 
among  the  chiefs,  a  distinguished  Sachem  rose,  and  having  f 
expressed  thanks  to  the  Great  Spirit,  that  so  many  of  us  had  / 
been  permitted  again  to  meet  in  council,  on  the  business  that 
had  brought  us  from  a  far  country,  to  see  them,  he  addressed 
the  committee  as  follows : 

"  Brothers  !     We  are  sensible    that  the    business   which 
brought  you  here  is  an  important  business.     You  have,  at  your 


142 

homes,  considered  the  siluation  of  our  people,  and  have  con- 
cluded to  visit  us  once  more;  and  to  continue  to  advise  and 
assist  us.  You  have  told  us  that  one  matter  of  great  impor- 
tance to  our  people  has  been  settled — that  our  remaining 
lands,  comprising  the  two  whole  reservations  of  Allegany  and 
Cattaraugus,  have  been  restored  and  are  secured  to  us — and 
that,  by  the  kindness  and  humanity  of  the  New  York  Legisla- 
ture, we  are  protected  by  the  strong  arm  of  the  law,  from 
the  depredations  and  frauds  formerly  committed  on  our  lands 
and  people. 

"Brothers  !  You  say  that  this  important  concern  being 
settled,  3'ou  have  now  come  to  propose  some  change  in  our 
customs  and  habits,  which  you  deem  essential  to  our  future 
progress,  toward  a  state  of  civilization.  This,swe  understand, 
is  one  of  the  principal  objects  of  your  visit  at  the  present  time. 
You  also  desire  to  see  our  lands  better  cultivated  and  impro- 
ved ;  and  our  children  better  educated.  We  say  to  you,  bro- 
thers, that  it  is  our  desire  the  school  should  be  continued,  and 
that  our  children  should  be  instructed  as  you  purpose.  We 
believe  the  education  and  elevation  of  our  people  will  go  for- 
ward ;  but  this  great  work  must  go  on  gradually  and  slowly, 
because  it  is  difficult  to  change  habits  of  long  standing,  and  to 
alter  customs  handed  down  from  our  ancestors. 

"  Brothers  !  On  looking  over  our  situation,  you  have 
thought  it  not  beneficial  to  our  nation,  that  our  women  should 
be  employed  in  the  field.  You  have  advised  us  to  call  them 
from  out-door  employments,  and  to  direct  their  attention  to 
household  affairs,  and  we  assure  you  we  will  endeavor  to  pre- 
vail on  them  to  do  so.  As  we  have  said  before,  we  will  call 
our  women  from  the  field.  But  their  habits  have  been  long 
fixed,  and  it  may  be  some  time  before  they  will  consent ;  yet 
in  this,  we  trust  we  shall  finally  succeed. 

"  Brothers  !  We  believe  it  is  true  that  the  Great  Spirit 
has  given  to  females  a  feebler  frame,  than  he  has  given  to  the 
men,  and  that  they  should  not  be  employed  in  such  things  as 
they  are  not  able  to  perform.     We  believe   also  that  if  the 


143 

changes  proposed  by  you  should  be  effected  as  you  desire, 
we  should  live  happier  and  be  more  prosperous  as  a  nation. 

"Brothers  !     We  are  thankful  that  our  friends  have  not 
been  discouraged  in  their  endeavors  to  promote  our  welfare, 

"Brothers  !     I  was  appointed  by  the  chiefs  of  the  nation, 
to  speak  these  words  to  you  at  this  time.     I  have  endeavored 
to  fulfil  my  duty.     Nevertheless,  I  may  not  have  fully  replied 
to  all  the  subjects  to  which  our  attention   has  been  called^ 
but  other  chiefs  may  make  all  necessary  additions." 
After  which  a  Friend  made  the  following  speech : 
"  Brothers  !     It  is  now  about  fifty  years  since  the  Society 
of  Friends  first  undertook  to  aid  the  Seneca  nation  in  their  ef- 
forts to  improve  the  habits  and  manners  of  their  people.     They 
embarked  in  this  concern  under  a  full  persuasion  that  it  was 
the  will  of  the  Great  Spirit,  they  should  assist  their  red  breth- 
ren in  a  work  so  necessary  to  their   future  welfare.     And  as 
the  Great  Spirit  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  so  Friends  believe 
that  those,  whom  he  sends  to  do  his  work,  should  likewise  be 
no  respecters  of  persons.     You   have  told  us  that  there  are 
parties  among  you,  who  think  differently  on   several  subjects 
which  you  have  mentioned.    With  these  differences,  you  have 
already  been  told,  we   cannot  intermeddle.     Our   concern  is 
for  the  happiness  and  welfare  of  the  whole  Seneca  nation.    As 
individuals,  you  are  all  equally  the  objects  of  our  love  and  re- 
gard.    To  every  Indian,  of  whatever  party,  we  are   friends, 
and  cordially  desire  their  present  and  future  prosperity.     We 
are  all  children  of  one  great  parent.     As  our  Heavenly  Father 
loves  all  his  children  alike,  and  is  good  to  all,  so  we  desire  to 
feel  no  distinction  among  our  Indian  brethren,  but  to  love  all 
alike,  and  as  far  as  we  can,  do  them  all  good. 

"  Brothers  !  You  have  expressed  a  wish  that  Friends 
may  not  be  discouraged  because  of  the  slowness  of  your  pro- 
gress in  the  path  of  improvement. — We  assure  you,  brothers, 
we  are  not  discouraged.  We  are  not  so  unreasonable  as  to  ex- 
pect that  habits  of  long  standing,  and  customs  handed  down  to 
you  from  your  remotest  ancestors,  can   be  suddenly   changed. 


I 


144 

Much  time  and  steady  perseverance,  under  the  most  favorable 
circumstances,  are  always  necessary  to  effect  such  changes. 
We  see  no  cause  for  discouragement,  either  to  you  or  us.  On 
the  contrary,  we  think  we  perceive  abundant  reason  for  mutual 
encouragement,  in  the  evidences  of  improvement  largely  afford- 
ed by  a  view  of  your  settlements.  When  we  passed  through 
your  Reservation  at  Cattaraugus  yesterday,  we  observed  many 
good  new  houses,  excellent  barns,  strong  fences,  thriving  or- 
chards, and  line  fruitful  fields.  These  things  made  our  hearts 
glad,  and  we  felt  ourselves  greatly  encouraged  on  your  account , 
Since  the  first  visit  the  committee  paid  you,  about  seven  years 
ago,  we  see  a  great  change  for  the  better  in  all  the  departments 
of  husbandry,  as  well  as  in  your  dress  and  mode  of  living ; 
and  we  desire  that  you  may  persevere  in  the  good  way,  and 
never  be  weary  of  well  doing.'' 

In  addition  to  these  appeals  to  the  chiefs,  one  of  the  women 
Friends,  a  member  of  the  committee,  prepared  an  address  to 
the  female  part  of  the  nation,  which  was  afterwards  printed 
and  circulated  throughout  the  families  at  Cattaraugus  and  Alle- 
gany, as  follows  : 
I  *'  Sisters  !      The   chiefs   of  your  nation  have  told  us  that 

they  are  disposed  to  promote  the  improvement  of  your  people, 
by  allowing  you  to  withdraw  from  the  labors  of  the  field,  in 
order  that  you  may  attend  more  closely  to  the  duties  properly 
belonging  to  your  sex. 

"  Sisters  !  We  earnestly  and  affectionately  desire  that 
you  may  industriously  and  faithfully  fulfil  these  duties.  To 
some  of  them  we  ask  your  particular  attention.  We  believe 
cleanliness,  both  in  our  houses  and  persons,  to  be  necessary 
to  our  health.  When  this  is  properly  attended  to,  it  makes 
our  homes  comfortable  and  greatly  promotes  the  happiness  of 
our  families.  When  the  women  learn  to  sew  and  spin  and 
knit,  they  become  qualified  to  make  useful  garments,  and  also 
to  mend  thera  when  necessary — so  that  all  the  members  of  the 
family  may  have  comfortable  and  decent  clothing.  To  have 
a  place  for  every  thing  in  use  about  your  houses,  and  to  keep 


\ 


145 

6very  thing  in  its  proper  place,  save?  a  great  deal  of  trouble,- 
and  makes  household  duties  easy  and  pleasant.  When  the 
men  bring  home  food  for  the  family,  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
women  to  have  it  properly  prepared  for  the  table,  and  see  that 
it  is  not  wasted  ;  by  proper  attention  to  this  duty,  our  men  are 
saved  from  much  unnecessary  labory  and  they  are  encouraged 
to  provide  well  for  our  comfort,  and  for  the  comfort  of  out 
children.  It  is  also  the  dutv  of  the  women  to  teach  their  chil-" 
dren  how  they  should  behave  themselves,  and  to  instruct  thent 
how  to  walk  in  the  right  way, — to  see  that  they  go  regularly  to 
school,  and  that  they  are  cleanly  dressed  and  properly  fitted 
out  to  go  there.  When  children  are  young,  they  are  much 
Under  the  care  of  their  mothers — they  look  to  them  for  exam- 
ple, and  it  requires  great  patience  and  prudence  to  train  them, 
so  as  to  make  them  good  men  and  women  when  they  grow  up. 
We  know  that  these  are  very  important  duties — but  we  believe 
that  when,  in  sincerity  of  heart,  you  look  to  the  great  Spirit, 
he  will  enable  you  to  perform  them,  so  that  you  may  look  for- 
ward in  hope,  that  your  children  may  be  a  blessing  to  you  in 
your  old  age,  and  become  qualified  to  carry  on  the  great  work 
of  improvement,  which  has  been  so  happily  begun  in  your  na- 
tion. And  thus,  when  the  close  of  life  draws  nigh,  you  may 
have  peace,  and  confidently  hope  that  death  will  remove  you 
to  a  better  world,  where  the  spirits  of  good  men  and  women 
'will  be  happy  forever.  That  such  may  be  your  experience,  is 
our  sincere  and  earnest  prayer  for  you  all— farewell." 

In  addition   to  this  parting  advice,  the  following  address, 
which  had  been  prepared,  was  also  printed  and  distributed 
among  the  chiefs  and  people  of  the  Seneca  nation. 
"Friends  and  Brothers: 

"  The  Seneca  nation  being  now  secure  in  the  possession  and 
occupancy  of  their  lands,  and  being  about  to  assume  their  sta- 
tion as  a  civilized  community,  with  a  regular  organized  govern- 
ment, it  is  believed  that  a  change  should  at  once  take  place, 
in  the  system  heretofore  pursued  amongst  them,  relative  to  the 
position  and  employments  of  their  females.  Under  these  cir- 
19 


/ 


146 

cumstances  it  may  be  useful  to  consider,  what  are  the  proper 
duties  of  women,  in  order  that  we  may  judge  if  the  practices 
and  habits  of  the  Senecas,  are  calculated  to  fit  their  women  for 
the  discharge  of  these  duties. 

"  In  the  first  place,  to  women,  in  every  well  regulated  socie- 
ty, should  be  committed  the  management  of  their  families,  and 
the  business  connected  with  their  household  concerns,  and 
they  should  be  qualified  to  exercise  a  salutary  influence  within 
their  appropriate  sphere. 

"  Secondly,  as  mothers,  they  are  responsible  for  the  nursing 
and  rearing  of  their  children,  and  for  the  proper  sustenance  of 
them  in  early  life.  They  are  also  responsible  for  the  habits  of 
their  children,  including  cleanliness  and  general  propriety  of 
behaviour.  A  sensible  judicious  mother,  can  greatly  control 
her  children  in  these  matters ;  she  can  make  them  modest  or 
impertinent — ingenuous  or  deceitful — fearful  or  intrepid.  The 
germ  of  all  these  traits  of  character  exists  in  childhood,  and  a 
mother  can  repress  or  strengthen  them. 

*'  Thirdly,  a  mother  is  responsible  for  the  principles  her  chil- 
dren may  entertain  in  early  life,  and  it  is  for  her  to  say,  whe- 
ther they  shall  be  imbued  with  sentiments  of  honesty,  industry 
and  morality,  or  with  those  of  a  contrary  character, — fraud, 
idleness,  and  dishonesty.  She  is,  to  a  very  considerable  extent, 
responsible  for  the  temper  and  disposition  of  her  children. 
Constitutionally  they  may  be  irritable  or  revengeful,  but  she 
may  correct  or  repress  these  passions,  and  in  their  place  instil 
better  feelings. 

"  Lastly  and  above  all,  she  is  responsible  for  the  religious 
education  of  her  children.  The  beginning  of  wisdom  is  a  rev- 
erence for  our  Creator,  and  obedience  to  his  requirings ;  and 
this,  it  is  within  the  power  of  every  good  mother  to  inculcate 
and  cherish  in  the  breasts  of  her  children ;  at  the  same  time  it 
is  by  far  the  most  important  duty  she  owes  them,  and  their 
usefulness  and  character  throughout  life,  may  depend  upon 
her  correct  and  faithful  discharge  of  it. 

"  If  these  be  the  appropriate  duties  and  obligations  of  a  mo- 


147 

ther,  will  it  not  be  vain  to  expect  the  Indian  women  can  be 
qualified  for  that  station,  or  that  they  will  be  in  a  condition  to 
give  a  proper  education  to  their  children,  or  train  them  up  in 
habits  and  principles  that  will  render  them  intelligent  and  good 
citizens,  whilst  they  themselves  are  left  in  ignorance,  and 
while,  instead  of  devoting  their  time  and  attention  to  the  dis- 
charge of  these  high  moral  duties,  thay  are  held  in  a  state  of 
servile  degradation,  and  compelled  to  perform  nearly  all  the 
menial  drudgeries  of  lite  ! 

'•  Women  are  created  by  Providence  equal  to  men  in  every 
thing,  except  mere  physical  strength ; — generally  they  have 
much  more  discretion,  and  certainly  are  far  more  virtuous. 
They  were  designed  to  exercise  a  conservative  influence  in 
society,  and  should  be  placed  in  a  jDosition  which  would  enable 
them  to  fulfil  this  most  important  office  ;  for  history  confirms 
the  deeply  interesting  fact,  that  no  people  ever  yet  were  ele- 
vated to  the  rank  of  civilization,  while  their  Temales  were  held 
in  a  servile  condition,  and  we  are  alsD  admonished  by  expe- 
rience, that  no  community  can  be  virtuous  and  happy,  which 
is  not  chastened  by  the  controlling  example  of  female  delicacy 
and  refinement. 

"  These  views  are  submitted  to  the  consideration  of  the  Se- 
necas,  in  the  hope  that  they  will  receive  their  serious  atten- 
tion, and  lead  to  the  adoption  of  an  improved  and  proper  divi- 
sion of  the  employments,  both  of  the  men  and  women,  of  their 
nation,  and  especially  to  the  extension  of  more  care  towards 
the  suitable  education  of  their  females,  and  the  consequent 
elevation  of  the  Seneca  women  to  their  appropriate  station  and 
dignity,  as  the  wives  and  rational  companions  of  intelligent  and 
educated  husbands. 

'•In  our  communications  with  you,  we  have  not  felt  it  to  be 
our  duty,  to  call  your  attention  to  any  particular  forms  or  ob- 
servances in  relation  to  your  religious  obligations.  We  believe 
that "  God  is  a  spirit,"  and  true  worship  to  him  can  only  be 
performed  "  in  spirit  and  in  truth.''  We  also  believe,  that 
however  diversified  the  human  family  may  be,  in  regaid  to  the 


148 

circumstances  in  which  they  may  be  placed,  all  stand  equally 
before  their  Creator,  as  objects  of  his  care  and  paternal  regard. 
in  his  great  mercy,  he  visits  us  with  remorse  and  sadness, 
when  we  have  wilfully  done  that  which  we  knew  to  be  wrong, 
and  w^hich,  if  persisted  in,  might  lead  to  our  destruction ;  and 
it  is  he  who  fills  our  hearts  with  peace  and  consolation,  when 
we  do  that  which  we  believe  to  be  right.  His  goodness  is  not 
limited  to  any  people  or  place,  nor  is  that  adoration  which  is 
due  to  him,  confined  within  temples  built  with  human  hands, 
or  restricted  to  any  particular  form ;  he  is  every  where  pre- 
sent, and  in  every  place,  the  incense  of  a  pious  devoted  heart, 
may  accebtably  be  offered  to  him. 

♦*  The  plants  of  the  earth  are  not  more  directly  under  the 
influences  of  the  natural  light  and  warmth  by  which  they  are 
nourished,  than  is  the  immortal  soul  or  spirit  of  man,  under  the 
immediate  care  and  sustaining  support  of  the  Divine  presence, 
which  is  always  near  and  round  about  us ;  for  it  is  in  him  we 
live,  and  move,  and  have  our  existence.  Deeply  impressed 
with  the  certainty  of  these  truths,  and  fully  believing  he  wall 
never  fail  to  lead  in  the  paths  of  safety  and  peace,  those  who 
sincerely  look  to  him  for  instruction,  and  faithfully  follow  his 
counsel,  we  recommend  you,  with  ourselves,  carefully  to 
attend  to  his  manifestations  of  light  and  truth  upon  our  minds, 
which  will  never  deceive  nor  mislead,  but  if  obeyed,  will 
wisely  conduct  us  through  the  dangers  of  this  life,  and  finally 
will  prepare  us  for  a  happy  admission  into  the  realms  of  eter- 
nal rest. 

"  You  will  perceive  that  in  recommending  you  to  withdraw 
your  women  from  the  labors  of  the  field  and  other  occupations 
not  suitable  for  them,  it  is  no  part  of  our  purpose  that  they 
should  fall  into  idleness,  or  be  exempted  from  such  useful  em- 
ployments as  are  adapted  to  their  condition  and  station  in 
life ;  on  the  contrary,  we  believe  it  is  as  much  the  duty  of 
women  as  it  is  of  men,  to  be  industriously  engaged  in  the  ap- 
propriate business  connected  with  their  household  affairs. 
These  duties  they  will  find   clearly  explained  and   defined  in 


149 

the  communication  addressed  particularly  to  them,  by  our 
women  Friends,  who  attended  the  late  Council  at  Catta- 
raugus, and  who,  while  among  you,  visited  some  of  your 
houses,  where  they  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  pre- 
sent management  and  arrangements  of  your  domestic  affairs, 
and  became  strongly  impressed  with  the  absolute  necessity 
of  your  adopting  the  change  they  have  so  affectionately  and 
urgently  recommended.  Let  me  then,  as  a  friend  and  brother, 
who  feels  deeply  interested  for  your  welfare,  again  ask  your 
attention  to  the  excellent  advice  contained  in  that  address, 
and  earnestly  recommend  that,  as  far  as  in  your  power,  you 
conform  to  it, 

''  As  an  adopted  son  of  the  Seneca  nation — indentified  with 
you  in  every  thing  that  concerns  your  prosperity  and  happiness, 
I  cannot  but  be  grieved  to  see,  that  there  is  so  much  dissension 
and  party  spirit  among  you,  as  seriously  to  interfere  with  the 
judicious  management  of  your  national  and  municipal  affairs. 
This  is  truly  to  be  deplored  and  causes  me  serious  and  painful 
apprehensions.  I  most  earnestly  recommend  you  to  lav  this 
matter  to  heart,  and  pause  before  it  brings  irremediable  evils 
upon  you.  I  entreat  you,  without  loss  of  time,  by  mutual  con- 
cessions and  forbearance,  to  endeavor  to  restore  peace  and  har- 
mony among  yourselves.  Remember  your  enemies  will  not 
fail  to  take  advantage  of  these  dissensions ;  you  are  still  weak 
and  surrounded  by  many  dangers,  and  the  united  discretion 
and  prudence  of  all  your  wise  and  good  men  will  be  needed  to 
meet  and  overcome  the  many  difficulties  that  yet  lay  in  your 
way. 

*'  I  have  not  been  informed  of  the  circumstances  or  causes  that 
have  led  to  these  dissensions.  II  they  relate  to  the  manage- 
ment of  your  business  affairs,  they  should,  by  mutual  conces- 
sions, be  at  once  removed.  If  they  arise  from  mere  difference 
of  opinion,  regarding  your  moral  or  religious  obligations,  they 
are  still  more  to  be  lamented.  We  are  all  the  children  of  one 
parent,  and  are  all  equally  the  objects  of  his  care  and  protec- 
tion.    It  is  his  purpose  that  we  should  love  and  do  good  to 


150 

each  other,  as  he  loves  and  extends  his  goodness  to  all  of  us. 
There  are  none  of  us  who  can  justly  claim  a  power  to  prescribe 
to  our  neighbor,  what  shall  be  his  opinion  or  views  on  any  ab- 
stract subject,  any  more  than  we  can  admit  he  has  the  power 
to  control  our  opinion. 

"  Practical  oroodness  does  not  necessarily  consist  in  any  code 
of  opinions  whatever ;  as  proof  of  this,  do  we  not  find  bad  men 
among  the  professors  of  all  opinions,  however  sound  and  un- 
exceptionable these  opinions  may  be  ?  On  the  contrary,  good- 
ness consists  in  the  faithful  observance  of  all  our  religious,  so- 
cial and  moral  duties.  We  are  plainly  told,  that  it  consists  in 
our  acting  justly  towards  all  men,  that  is,  in  doing  to  them  as 
we  would  desire  they  should  do  unto  us ;  secondly,  in  being 
merciful  and  kind  to  each  other,  and  to  all  parts  of  the  sensitive 
creation;  and  thirdly,  in  our  walking  humbly,  in  submission 
and  faithful  obedience  to  the  Divine  will,  as  manifested  in  our 
OWN  MINDS  to  us.  Do  wc  not  know  that  we  can  discharge  all 
these  duties,  without  unkindly  interfering  with  the  opinions, 
honestly  perhaps  entertained  by  others  ?  Let  me  then,  my  friends, 
as  your  brother,  and  as  a  member  of  the  Seneca  nation,  earnestly 
entreat  you  to  cease  from  all  strife  and  contention,  be  the  same 
on  whatever  subject  it  may — Cherish  feelings  of  love  and  kind- 
ness towards  each  other — leave  every  one  free  to  enjoy  an  un- 
restricted liberty  of  conscience,  while  he  does  not  disturb  the 
public  peace,  nor  interfere  with  the  free  exercise  of  the  same 
right  b}""  others ;  and  remember  I  tell  you,  whoever  may  give 
you  any  advice,  calculated  to  interrupt  the  relations  of  harmony 
and  peace,  or  endeavor  to  introduce  opinions  or  views  among 
you,  which  tend  to  produce  discord,  is  not  your  friend. 

"  Commending  you  to  the  protection  of  the  Great  Spirit,  and 
invoking  for  you  his  paternal  care  and  regard,  I  am  your 
friend  and  brother." 

The  change,  as  will  here  have  been  seen,  that  has  taken 
place  in  the  government  of  the  Seneca  nation,  sanctioned  by 
the  law  of  the  New  York  Legislature,  and  recognised  by  the 


151 

Government  of  the  United  States,  and  the  States  of  Mas- 
sachusetts and  New  York,  is,  we  think  calculated  to  pro- 
duce the  happiest  effects.  The  evils  to  which  the  Sene- 
cas  had  been  subjected,  for  want  of  some  form  of  gov- 
ernment, better  suited  to  their  advanced  state  of  civilization, 
had  been  severely  felt.  For  want  of  written  records  of  the 
acts  and  decisions  of  the  national  councils,  nothing  could  be 
sufficiently  attested;  not  even  in  cases  of  the  deepest  import- 
ance to  the  nation.  In  our  attempts  to  set  aside  the  treaty,  by 
which  they  were  defrauded,  to  the  loss  of  their  four  reserva- 
tions, we  found  it  impossible  to  prove  beyond  a  cavil,  who  were 
really  and  truly  their  chiefs,  and  consequently  it  was  difficult 
to  defend  them,  against  the  false  allegations  of  those  who  were 
interested  in  driving  them  away.  That  law,  so  benevolently 
granted  by  the  State,  is  not  only  valuable  as  an  efficient  shield 
of  defence  from  the  depredations  and  injuries  of  unprincipled 
white  men,  but  by  prescribing  and  guaranteeing  to  the  Indians 
a  simple,  but  efficient  form  of  government,  adapted  to  their 
present  capacity,  it  must  become  a  powerful  agent  in  promoting 
their  civilization.  By  it  they  will  necessarily  be  introduced 
into  the  exercise  of  their  intellectual  powers,  in  the  Legislative, 
Executive,  and  Judiciary  departments  of  government.  Thus 
they  can  hardly  fail  to  acquire  mental  discipline,  habits  of 
thinking,  and  of  application,  without  W' hich  no  people  can  attain 
a  state  of  perfect  civilization.  It  is  very  evident  to  those  who 
have,  within  the  last  seven  years,  been  called  upon  to  aid  the 
Indians  in  their  difficulties,  that  far  the  greater  part  of  their 
troubles  are  attributable  to  mental  weakness,  the  consequence 
of  indolence  or  inaction.  Civilization  is  a  forced  state.  It  is 
seen  in  its  fairest  form,  only  in  those  situations,  where  the 
wants  of  the  people  are  numerous  and  pressing,  and  where  at 
the  same  time  those  wants  may  all  be  amply  supplied  by  fore- 
thought, application,  and  industry. 

The  possibility  of  Indian  civilization  in  their  unmixed  state, 
is  a  question  not  yet  settled  even  arnong  their  friends;  and,  is 
sincerely  doubted  by  a  large  and  intelligent  portion  of  the  com- 


i 


152 

rii unity.  The  policy  of  amalgamating  the  white  and  red  race^, 
is  beginning  to  be  reprobated,  under  the  persuation  that  the  re- 
mote posterity,  descended  from  such  a  mixture,  is  essentially 
deteriorated.  It  is  none  of  our  business  however,  to  combat 
these  opinions,  nor  indeed  have  we  any  concern  with  them* 
It  is,  to  the  real  philanthropist,  a  sufficient  motive  to  action, 
that  he  finds  his  fellow  man  in  distress.  The  good  Samaritan 
is  his  prototype, — every  country  is  his  country,  and  every  man 
his  brother. 

But  whatever  may  be  our  theories  on  this  subject  of  Indian 
civilization,  we  think  it  must  be  evident  that  the  present  posi- 
tion of  the  Seneca  Indians  at  Cattaraugus  and  Alleghany,  is^ 
extremely  favorable  for  the  attainment  of  that  object.  They 
can  no  long-er  live  bv  the  chase.  It  is  not  now  with  them  as 
it  was  w^ith  the  Indians  on  the  Delaware,  w^hen  William  Penn 
said,  *'  their  pleasures  feed  them, — hunting,  fishing,  and  fowl- 
ino-."  Surrounded  by  the  white  settlements,  and  placed  in  the 
vicinity  of  cities  and  towns,  they  are  obliged  to  apply  to  agri- 
culture, and  other  modes  of  labor,  for  the  means  of  subsistence. 
They  now  are  building  good  houses,  planting  orchards,  raising 
stock.  They  have  horses  and  carriages. — Artificial  wants,  the 
very  pillars  of  civilization,  are  increasing  upon  them.  These 
require  exertion, — call  into  action  their  mental  faculties,  force 
them  to  provide  for  coming  exigencies — gradually  tame  down 
the  wild  nature  in  them,  and  prepare  them  for  that  subdued, 
but  improved  state,  in  which  alone  is  to  be  found  the  highest 
point  of  intellectual  cultivation,  as  well  as  the  highest  enjoy- 
ment intended  for  man  in  this  probationary  world. 

If  this  experiment  fails,  we  may  with  melancholy  certainly 
look  forward  to  the  period,  and  that  period  not  remote,  when 
this  interesting  branch  of  the  human  family,  shall  be  swept  into 
oblivion,  when  the  fine  sounding  names  of  our  lofty  mountains, 
our  noble  rivers,  our  splendid  cataracts,  our  great  inland  seas, 
and  our  silver  lakes,  w^ill  be  the  sole  memorials  of  a  race,  that, 
only  two  or  three  centuries  ago,  covered  the  face  of  this  vast 
continent. 


153 

On  the  other  hand  if  this  experiment  should  succeed,  it  will 
open  "  a  door  of  hope"  for  the  preservation,  or  if  we  may  use 
the  terms,  physical  salvation  of  that  apparently  doomed  race. 
It  may  encourage  the  philanthropist  to  stretch  forth  his  hand 
for  the  protection  of  the  yet  remaining  tribes  beyond  the  Mis- 
sissippi; and  the  child  may  be  already  born,  who  will  live  to 
behold  that  vast  wilderness,  thickly  dotted  over  with  Indian 
communities, — with  tow^ns,  and  villages,  and  farms,  and  manu- 
facturing hamlets.  They  may  live  to  see  the  hoe  and  the 
spade,  taking  the  place  of  the  Bow  and  the  Tomahawk, — the 
lion  and  the  lamb  feeding  together, — the  sword  beaten  into  a 
plough-share,  and  the  spear  into  a  pruning  hook. 

But  it  is  time  now  to  return  from  this  digression.  The  ap- 
parent unanimity  of  the  Indians  in  relation  to  the  form  of  gov- 
ernment so  lately  adopted  by  the  nation,  was  of  short  duration. 
Human  nature  is  the  same  every  w^here.  The  minds  of  men 
differ  from  each  other  less  than  their  outward  circumstances. 
The  Indian  loves  power  as  well  as  the  white  man,  though  in 
general  he  uses  it  w^ith  more  justice  and  moderation.  Their 
new  Constitution  created  new  Offices,  and  conferred  new  pow- 
ers. Offices  create  distinctions.  The  office  of  CHIEF  under 
the  old  regime,  was  little  more  than  the  distinction  oi  seniority. 
It  was  much  more  a  mark  of  respect,  than  a  post  oi power.  No 
authority  of  a  coercive  nature  was  attached  to  it.  If  it  had  any 
pow^er  at  all,  it  was  the  power  of  iiijiueiice.  If  Red  Jacket 
himself  had  more  authority  than  any  other  man  in  the  nation, 
it  was  that  which  was  voluntarily  conceded  to  him  on  account 
of  his  talents, — his  wisdom  and  devotion  to  the  interests  of  his 
people.  But  now^,  under  the  new  Constitution,  some  chiefs 
must  necessarily  be  distinguished  from  other  chiefs.  All  could 
not  be  presidents  of  councils; — all  could  not  be  treasurers,  and 
magistrates, — and  marshalls,  and  very  soon  after  their  first  elec- 
tion under  the  new  government,  jealousies,  and  divisions,  and 
animosities  appeared  among  them,  which  soon  grew  to  so  for- 
midable a  height,  as  to  threaten  the  existence  of  the  constitu- 
tion which  they  had  almost  unanimouslv  desired,  and  which 
20 


154 

had  been  granted  to  them,  by  the  New  York  Legislature,  at 
their  own  earnest  request.  At  Cattaraugus  the  opposition  had 
assumed  the  appearance  of  an  organized  confederacy,  with 
several  distinguished  chiefs  at  its  head.  The  harmony  ot  the 
nation  was  interrupted ;  instead  of  order  there  was  confusion. 
At  length  the  difficulties  and  embarrassment  which  ensued,  in- 
duced them  to  apply  to  Friends  for  their  assistance. 

Another  subject  at  the  present  time  greatly  disturbed  the  na- 
tion. A  certain  Dr.  Hogeboom,  desirous  of  handling  some  of 
the  public  money,  had  been  actively  engaged  in  trying  to  get 
up  a  company  of  Indians,  who  might  be  willing  to  emigrate  to 
the  lands  west  of  the  Mississippi.  At  length  he  succeeded  so 
far  to  as  procure  the  names  of  a  number  of  idle  vagrants,  of  dif- 
ferent tribes,  together  with  some  of  the  old  emigration  party,  and 
with  some  others,  made  such  representations  to  the  Indian  De- 
partment, at  Washington,  as  induced  the  Government  to  appro- 
priate the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars  for  their  removal.  This 
fact  coming  to  the  knowledge  of  the  chiefs  gave  them  great  un- 
easiness. On  application  to  Stephen  Osborne,  the  United  States 
Agent  residing  near  the  Seneca  nation,  he  informed  them  that 
the  subject  of  emigration  must  be  forever  abandoned,  as  the  Exe- 
cutive Government  of  the  United  States,  were  perfectly  satis- 
fied that  no  emigration  party  to  any  great  extent,  could  be  or- 
ganized. 

These  contradictory  representations  greatly  perplexed  the 
Indians,  and  in  order  to  have  the  question  settled,  they  sent  the 
following  Memorial  to  Washington,  addressed  to  the  President 
of  the  United  States. 

To  the  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  undersigned  chiefs  and  head  men  of  the  Seneca  nation 
of  Indians  residing  in  the  State  of  New  York,  would  respect- 
fully represent  to  your  Excellency,  that  they  have  been  in- 
formed, that  a  few  days  since  delegates  of  the  tribe  above  men- 
tioned have  been  deputed  to  Pekin  at  the  residence  of  one 


155 

Doctor  Hogeboom,  who  we  understood  had  been  appointed  by 
the  executive  of  the  e-overnment  of  the  United  States  during 
the  year  1845,  as  a  removing  agent  to  accompany  such  of  our 
people,  as  were  anxious  to  remove  to  the  country  west  of  the 
Mississippi  river;  and  that  the  said  Dr.  Hogeboom  then  and 
there  stated  to  the  delegates,  that  the  government  of  the  United 
States  intend  to  remove  such  as  were  willing  to  go,  in  the 
spring  of  the  present  year ;  and  that  the  said  Dr.  Hogeboom 
further  stated,  that  he  had  authority,  power  and  instructions,  to 
remove  from  two  or  three  individuals  to  five  hundred  souls. 
That  the  said  Dr.  Hog-eboom  further  stated  to  the  said  deleo;a- 
tion,  that  he  had  the  funds  of  the  government  in  his  hands, 
and  that  he  was  merely  waiting  for  the  opening  of  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Lakes : — that  being  accomplised,  a  boat  would  be 
chartered  immediately,  to  convey  the  emigrants. 

The  undersigned  further  represent,  that  the  said  delegates 
believe  the  statement  of  Dr.  Hogeboom,  while  on  the  other 
hand,  they  are  told  by  the  United  States  Indianagent,  Stephen 
Osborn  of  the  City  of  Buffalo,  that  the  subject  of  emigration  to 
the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi  must  now  forever  be  aban- 
doned, and  that  the  executive  government  of  the  United  States, 
were  perfectly  satisfied  that  no  emigration  party  can  now  be 
or2;anised. 

The  undersigned  feeling  deep  and  anxious  solicitude  for 
the  welfare  of  our  people,  that  on  account  of  these  contradic- 
tory statements,  much  loss  and  injury  will  be  sustained  by  such 
of  our  people  who  are  willing  to  be  duped.  As  the  seed  time 
is  drawing  nigh,  and  if  these  people  should  be  induced  to 
neglect  this  important  duty,  by  the  statements  of  Dr.  Hoge- 
boom, we  predict  that  they  will  reap  much  suffering,  and  many 
of  them  will  be  reduced  to  poverty  and  starvation.  We  desire 
to  avert  such  a  calamity.  We  therefore  respectfully  request 
your  excellency,  to  send  special  messages,  or  call  a  special 
convention  of  the  tribe  interested  in  this  matter,  or  any  other 
way  your  Excellency  may  think   proper,  in  order  that  our 


156 

people  may  become  undeceived  and  settled.     And  your  peti- 
tioners will  ever  pray,  Sec, 

Signed, 

JOHN  KENNEDY,  Senr. 

and  eighteen  other  chiefs. 
Witness,  PETER  WILSON. 

In  consequence  of  this  appeal,  the  Secretary  of  War  directed 
the  Indian  Agent  to  call  a  council  of  the  whole  nation,  to  meet 
at  Cattaraugus  on  the  2d  of  the  Sixth  month,  1846.  A.  H. 
Tracy  and  G.  W.  Clinton,  citizens  of  Buffalo,  possessing  the 
confidence,  both  of  the  public  and  the  Indians,  were  appointed 
to  represent  the  Government  at  the  proposed  council,  with  in- 
structions to  inquire  fully  into  the  subject,  and  to  report  the 
facts  to  the  Department.  The  Joint  Committees  of  the  four 
Yearly  Meetings  were  respectfully  invited  to  be  present  on 
that  occasion. 

On  the  3d  of  the  sixth  month,  the  Council  was  duly  organ- 
ized.— The  Indians  were  largely  in  attendance,  and  chiefs  from 
all  the  Reservations  were  there.  On  the  part  of  the  United 
States,  there  were  present  G.  W.  Clinton,  Commissioner,  and 
Stephen  Osborne,  the  Agent  of  the  Government,  with  Judge, 
Tho.  C.  Love,  one  of  the  appraisers  of  their  improvements, 
under  the  treaty  of  184*2,  and  the  delegation  from  the  Society 
of  Friends. 

When  the  Couiicil  was  duly  organized,  the  United  States 
Agent  opened  and  explained  the  objects  of  the  meeting.  He 
stated  that  the  President  directed  the  calling  of  this  Council, 
in  order  that  an  opportunit}'  may  be  given  them,  fairh'  to  ex- 
press their  views  in  relation  to  emigration  into  the  country 
west  of  the  Mississippi  river.  He  then  introduced  the  Com- 
missioner of  the  United  States,  who  had  come  there  to  learn 
from  the  chiefs  themselves,  their  wishes  in  regard  to  that  mat- 
ter, which  has  latterly  been  the  cause  of  so  much  uneasiness 
to  them.    After  opening  that  concern,  he  mentioned  there  was 


157 

present  a  deputation  of  men  and  women  Friends,  who,  at  a 
suitable  time,  would  explain  the  object  of  their  visit. 

Governor  Blacksnake,  the  head  sachem  of  the  nation,  then 
in  the  ninety-sixth  year  of  his  age,  now  rose  and  addressed 
the  Council  as  follows  : 

"Brothers  !  The  Council  being  now  opened  by  the  agent, 
I  wish  to  say  a  few  words  before  we  proceed  further  in  the 
business.  We  are  informed  that  there  is  present  a  commis- 
sioner of  the  United  States,  who  has  been  appointed  to  ascer- 
tain our  wishes  in  regard  to  emigrating  to  the  west.  I  per- 
ceive also  we  have  with  us  a  committee  of  our  friends,  the 
Quakers,  who  have  come  a  great  distance  to  meet  and  confer 
with  us.  It  is  by  the  merciful  providence  of  the  Great  Spirit 
that  they  have  been  preserved  through  their  long  journey,  and 
I  now,  in  behalf  of  the  Seneca  nation,  express  our  thankfulness 
for  their  safe  arrival.  We  hope  that  while  they  are  with  us 
they  will  be  preserved,  and  that  when  they  return,  they  may 
be  safely  conducted  to  their  homes,  by  the  same  good  hand 
that  brought  them  here. 

"My  Brother  Chiefs  !  I  now  wish  to  say  a  few  words 
to  you.  I  hope  that  whatever  the  officers  of  the  Government, 
and  our  friends,  now  here,  may  say  to  us,  will  be  listened  to 
with  attention,  and  deliberately  considered  ; — that  in  all  your 
deliberations  you  keep  calm,  and  be  prepared  to  decide  with 
judgment.  I  hope  your  decisions  may  be  wise,  and  that  all 
the  dissension^  among  you  may  be  reconciled  and  settled,  and 
that,  hereafter,  all  party  contentions  may  be  buried.  If  there 
be  any  who  wish  to  emigrate,  let  them  be  permitted  to  do  so ; 
but  my  advice  to  you  all  is,  that  you  remain,  and  enjoy  the 
comforts  and  advantages  that  are  secured  to  you  here.  By 
emigrating  you  will  be  exposed  to  many  hardships  and  dan- 
gers. Nevertheless,  I  repeat  that  I  desire  to  leave  every  one 
to  decide  for  himself." 

George  W.  Clinton,  the  Commissioner  of  the  United  States, 
now  addressed  them  in  a  lucid  and  impressive  manner.  He 
noticed  the  reception  of  their  Memorial  by  the  Government — 


158 

told  them  that  on  their  own  application,  the  present  Council 
had  been  called,  that  they  might  make  known  to  the  Presi- 
dent their  real  sentiments  in  relation  to  a  removal  to  the  west. 
He  stated  that  the  Government  had  no  desire  to  influence 
their  decision  on  this  point,  but  left  them  entirely  at  liberty 
to  exercise  their  own  free  will  in  relation  to  it.  If  they  wish- 
ed to  remove,  they  would  be  assisted  to  do  so,  and  their  an- 
nuities hereafter  would  be  paid  as  punctually  lo  them  in  the 
west,  as  they  had  always  been  at  their  present  residence.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  they  wished  to  remain  at  their  present 
homes,  they  were  at  full  liberty  to  do  so,  and  should  there  be 
protected  in  all  their  rights. 

The  Commissioner  further  observed,  that  it  was  reported  a 
considerable  number  of  Indians  had  lately  removed  from  the 
State  of  New  York  westward,  and  he  wished  to  be  informed 
by  the  chiefs  then  present,  what  number  had  gone,  and  from 
what  tribes  and  Reservations  they  had  emigrated. 

The  Chiefs,  after  some  consultation  among  themselves,  re- 
plied that  they  were  not  now  prepared  to  answer  these  ques- 
tions. They  said  it  was  true  some  Indians  had  lately  gone 
west,  but  they  were  not  prepared  to  state  with  certainty  either 
their  number,  or  the  places  from  whence  they  had  gone.  They 
would  however  inquire,  and  when  prepared  would  give  the 
desired  information. 

The  Council  then  adjourned  until  the  following  day. 
On  the  4th  of  the  month  the  Council  being  again  convened, 
Jacob  Blacksnake,  a  delegate  from  the  Allegany  Reservation, 
rose  and  said,  he  wished  to  express  his  thanks  to  the  Great 
Spirit,  that  he  had  permitted  them  at  this  time  to  meet  their 
brothers  and  sisters  now  present,  who  had  come  so  great  a  dis- 
tance to  see  them.  He  then  stated,  on  behalf  of  the  Allegany 
Reservation,  that  their  chiefs  unanimously  wish  to  remain  and 
retain  their  present  homes  ; — they  believed  it  to  be  their  inte- 
rest to  do  so,  and  have  no  desire  to  remove.  One  lad,  how- 
ever, had  put  his  name  to  an  emigration  paper,  but  declared 
he  never  intended  to  emigrate. 


159 

Nathaniel  T.  Strong  officially  reported  that  four  men,  but  not 
one  woman,  had  emigrated  from  the  Cattaraugus  Reservation. 
Of  these,  one  was  a  chief,  the  others  were  warriors,  and  that 
they  knew  of  no  others  who  desired  to  remove. 

Job  Pierce,  on  behalf  of  the  Buffalo  Reservaton,  reported 
fifty-eight  emigrants.     Of  these,  six  were  chiefs. 

John  Blacksmith  reported,  on  behalf  of  the  Tonawanda  Re- 
servation, that  none  of  their  people  had  emigrated  ;  that  they 
unanimously  determined  to  remain  where  they  are,  and  that 
he  now  understood  the  United  States  Commissioner  to  say,  that 
they  will  be  permitted  to  do  so. 

The  Commissioner  then  said,  that  it  was  important  there 
should  be  no  misunderstanding  of  what  he  did  say.  "  My 
business  here  is  simply  to  ascertain  how  many  Senecas  wish 
to  remove  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  has  no  reference  to  the 
removal  of  the  Tonawandas  under  the  treaties.  The  question 
now  pending  between  them  and  the  Ogden  Company,  must 
be  settled  elsewhere." 

Peter  Wilson,  for  the  Cayugas,  reported,  that  forty-one  of 
that  tribe  had  left  New  York,  for  the  West ;  of  whom,  it  was 
understood,  three  had  returned.  "  That  tribe  has  been  broken 
up,  has  become  disorganised  and  are  scattered  into  different 
parts  of  the  Slate.  Their  chiefs  have  concluded  to  leave  them 
to  decide  the  question  of  emigration  for  themselves." 

George  Button,  on  behalf  of  the  Onondagas,  stated  that  eight 
individuals  of  that  tribe  had  gone  west,  two  of  whom  were 
chiefs.     None  of  the  remainder  wished  to  emigrate. 

Nathaniel  T.  Strong  said  he  had  heard  that  three  other  In- 
dians, not  before  reported,  had  gone  from  Cattaraugus  ;  they 
were  strangers,  lately  arrived  there,  whose  former  residence 
was  not  known. 

Israel  Jamieson  then  addressed  the  Council  as  follows : 

"Brothers!  The  question  relative  to  emigration  being 
disposed  of,  I  will  explain  the  manner  in  vvhich  this  removal 
of  the  Indians  to  the  west  has  been  effected.  I  believe  it  was 
irregularly  conducted.     Indeed  I  may  say,  of  this    [   am  con- 


160 

vinced.  The  agent  who  came  to  execute  it,  was  duly  notifi- 
ed, that  the  government  had  called  the  present  Council  for  the 
consideration  and  investigation  of  this  matter.  As  soon  as  it 
was  known  that  this  had  been  determined  on,  great  efforts 
were  made  to  hurry  off  the  emigrants,  and  induce  them  to 
leave  before  the  Council  would  meet.  I  am  satisfied  that 
many  were  decoyed  away  by  various  unfair  contrivances,  and 
gross  misrepresentations  on  the  part  of  the  emigrating  agent 
and  his  emisaries,  I  myself  remonstrated  against  these  pro- 
ceedings, and  asked  if  it  could  be  proper  to  inveigle  and  de- 
ceive the  Indians  in  this  manner  ?  In  reply,  I  was  desired  to 
be  silent,  to  which  I  rejoined,  that  many  of  them  who  they 
had  decoyed  on  board  the  boat  were  then  drunk,  and  in  a  state 
of  unconscious  insensibilty  ! — these  remonstrances  availed  no- 
thing, and  the  whole  were  hurried  away.  If  any  showed  an 
unwillingness  to  go,  they  were  told  they  might  return  if  they 
choose,  should  they  not  like  the  place  when  they  got  there.'' 

The  subject  of  emigration  was  closed  by  a  few  remarks  from 
the  United  States  Commissioner.  He  stated  that  from  what 
had  appeared  here,  it  was  manifest  there  was  really  at  this  time^ 
no  emigration  party,  and  that  he  should  so  report  to  the 
government. 

After  the  disposal  of  the  emigration  question,  the  propriety 
of  sustaining  and  carrying  into  effect  the  Law  of  the  New^  York 
Legislature,  providing  a  municipal  government  for  the  Seneca 
Indians,  residing  on  the  Cattaraugus  and  Alleghany  reserva- 
tions, was  considered  and  warmly  discussed.  Those  who  were 
in  favor  of  its  adoption,  had,  at  the  time  appointed  by  the  Law 
met,  formally  accepted  it,  and  elected  all  the  officers  required 
by  its  provisions.  Their  action  w^as  reprobated  by  the  opposing 
party,  which  was  formidable  from  its  numbers,  and  was  headed 
by  some  influential  chiefs.  After  a  warm  debate  neither  party 
seemed  disposed  to  yield  to  the  other.  At  length  an  appeal 
was  made  to  the  counsellor  who  had  been  appointed  by  the 
Government  of  the  State  of  New  York,  to  see  that  the  humane 
provisions  of  this  Act  were  fully  extended  to  the  Senecas.     He 


161 

was  requested  to  give  his  opinion,  whether  the  law  had  been 
legally  adopted  by  the  Seneca  nation,  and  whether  the  officers 
that  had  been  elected,  were  legally  authorised  to  execute  the 
powers  conferred  by  the  Act. 

In  reply,  he  explicitly  informed  the  chiefs  that  the  law  had 
been  legally  adopted  by  the  nation,  and  that  the  officers  who 
now  held  their  stations  under  it,  were  duly  and  constitutionally 
elected,  and  had  a  right  to  execute  it ;  and  further,  that  any 
resistance  to  them  in  the  lawful  execution  of  it,  would  be 
criminal. 

Judge  Love,  whose  friendship  for  the  Indians,  had  been  man- 
ifested by  many  kind  offices  of  great  importance  to  them,  now 
addressed  the  council  in  an  impressive  manner.  He  explained 
the  objects  of  the  Legislature  in  passing  the  law, — the  advan- 
tages that  would  result  from  it,  if  wisely  and  prudently  admin- 
istered,— the  effectual  protection  it  gave  them  in  their  persons 
and  property  ;  the  good  it  had  already  done  them,  by  excluding 
spirituous  liquors  from  their  villages  ;  and  concluded,  by  warn- 
ing them,  in  a  very  emphatic  manner,  of  the  fatal  consequences 
that  must  follow,  should  they,  under  the  influence  of  indivi- 
duals, interested  in  destroying  them,  be  induced  to  reject  it. 

The  effect  of  these  explanations,  it  was  hoped  would  be  seen 
in  a  quiet  acquiescence  in  the  law ;  and  although  this  was  not 
the  immediate  consequence,  yet  since  that  time  through  the 
salutary  influence  of  reflection,  and  the  adoption  of  wiser  coun- 
sels, they  have  been  drawn  into  more  unanimity  of  opinion, 
and  are  now  beginning  to  reap  the  benefits  of  unity  of  action. 

The  primary  objects  of  calling  the  council,  having  been  at- 
tended to,  the  United  States  Agent  stated  to  the  chiefs,  that  the 
delegation  of  Friends,  who  had  been  with  them  during  the 
present  session,  were  prepared  to  open  their  business,  and  ex- 
plain the  object  of  their  visit. 

One  of  the  chiefs  then  rose,  and  said  the  council  was  ready 
to  listen  to   any  communication  their  friends  might  have  to 
make  to  them,  upon  which  a  member  of  the  committee  ad- 
dressed the  council,  as  follows ; 
21 


162 

"My  Brothers  and  Sisters  !  I  feel  thankful  to  the  Great 
Spirit,  that  he  has  this  day  permitted  me  to  meet  you  in  coun- 
cil, and  afforded  us  an  opportunity  of  opening  our  minds  freely 
to  each  other,  on  subjects  interesting  to  us  all,  and  which  very 
especially  concern  your  present  and  future  welfare.  In  the 
remarks  I  am  about  to  make,  I  am  aware  of  the  relation  in 
which  you  have  placed  me,  as  an  adopted  son  of  the  Seneca 
nation ;  and  I  can  assure  you,  that  I  feel  myself  identified 
with  you  and  deeply  solicitous  for  the  prosperity  and  happiness 
of  you  all. 

"  Brothers  and  Sisters  !  The  Friends  you  now  see 
here  with  me,  represent  the  joint  committee  of  the  four  Yearly 
Meetings,  who,  for  some  years  past,  have  extended  to  you,  ad- 
vice and  assistance,  in  recovering  your  lands,  and  securing  to 
you  and  your  children  the  peaceable  possession  of  them.  By 
your  co-operation  and  assistance,  this  important  object  has  been 
attained,  and  our  gratitude  is  due  to  the  Great  Spirit,  that 
through  his  overruling  goodness,  you  are  in  the  quiet  posses- 
sion and  enjoyment  of  comfortable  homes,  that  cannot  be  taken 
from  you,  without  your  own  consent,  or  by  some  indiscreet  act 
on  your  part.  You  are  the  admitted  owners  of  a  rich  and  fruit- 
ful soil,  sufficiently  productive,  with  due  diligence,  to  afford 
you  ample  supplies  of  all  the  necessaries  of  life,  requisite  for 
the  subsistence  of  your  families. 

Brothers  !  Your  friends  have  observed  with  satisfaction, 
your  improvement  in  agriculture,  as  well  as  in  your  domestic 
arrangements,  and  feel  great  confidence  that  by  perseverance 
in  the  course  of  sobriety  and  industry  you  have  adopted,  and 
living  in  harmony  and  peace  among  yourselves,  you  will  be- 
come a  prosperous  and  happy  people.  But  my  brothers,  we 
feel  it  to  be  our  solemn  duty  to  express  to  you  our  conviction, 
that  unless  you  can  be  prevailed  upon  to  do  this,  and  will 
cease  from  the  bickerings  which  have  lately  agitated  and  dis- 
tracted your  public  councils,  all  these  fair  prospects  will  disap- 
pear. You  will  lose  the  confidence  and  respect  of  your  friends 
and  neighbors— disorder  and  confusion  will  enter  into  all  your 


163 

concerns,  and  you  will  soon  fall  an  easy  prey  to  your  enemies. 
A  tew  revolving  years  will  tind  you  scattered  abroad  in  distant 
regions,  exposed  to  many  hardships  and  dangers,  under  which, 
in  a  little  time,  you  will  be  destroyed,  and  the  council  fire  of 
the  once  powerful  Seneca  nation,  will  be  extinguished,  never 
again  to  be  kindled. 

"Brothers  !  Let  us  seriously  inquire  if  the  matters  about 
which  you  have  been  contending,  and  which  have  occasioned 
so  much  agitation  and  distraction  among  you,  are  of  sufficient 
importance,  thus  to  put  to  hazard  your  dearest  interests,  and 
even  to  peril  your  very  existence. 

"Brothers!  The  deep  interest  we  feel  in  whatever  concerns 
the  prosperity  of  the  Seneca  nation,  obliges  us  to  speak  plainly 
to  you,  and  earnestly  to  warn  you  of  the  consequences  which 
must  come  upon  you,  unless  you  can  be  prevailed  on  by  mu- 
tual concessions  and  forbearance,  to  put  an  end  to  the  party 
divisions  that  have  been  engendered  among  you.  These  divi- 
sions give  great  delight  to  your  enemies — they  plainly  see  that 
you  are  falling  into  the  snares  they  have  laid  for  your  destruc- 
tion— for  they  are  fully  aware,  that  as  a  united  people,  they 
never  could,  by  fraud  or  force,  accomplish  their  earnestly  cher- 
ished purpose  of  possessing  themselves  of  your  lands. 

"  Brothers  !  They  know  well  the  destructive  effects,  division 
and  contention  have  produced,  in  many  other  Indian  tribes  in 
our  countrv,  and  they  are  not  ignorant  of  the  means  by  which 
these  dissentions  have  been  produced.  Under  the  baneful  in- 
fluences of  these  distractions,  thev  liave  seen  whole  tribes  of 
your  race  melt  away  like  snow  under  a  summer  sun.  The 
habitations  of  these  tribes  they  have  seen  become  the  homes 
of  another  people — and  the  graves  of  their  fathers  in  possession 
of  their  enemies ;  and  all  this  melancholy  desolation  was  the 
consequence  of  divided  councils.  Even  in  your  own  nation, 
most  of  the  evils  that  have  fallen  upon  you,  may  be  attributed 
to  this  same  cause.  Artful  designing  men,  whose  only  object 
was  to  drive  you  from  the  lands  descended  to  you  from  your 
forefathers,  bv  the  corrupting  influences  which  they  employedj 


164 

first  introduced  dissention  into  your  councils,  and  then  took 
advantage  of  your  folly,  to  rob  and  despoil  you. 

"  Brothers  !  There  is  nothing  new  in  all  this ;  this  history 
of  former  times,  relating  to  the  white  race,  acquaint  us,  that 
by  internal  animosities,  some  oi  the  most  powerful  nations, 
that  ever  existed  in  this  world  w^ere  overthrown  and  destroyed 
— their  enemies  first  excited,  and  then  took  advantage  of  their 
dissentions.  By  division  they  became  powerless,  and  were  easily 
destroyed.  Can  you,  already  reduced  to  a  mere  handful  of  men, 
surrounded,  as  you  are,  by  untiring  enemies,  ready  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  every  circumstance  that  ma}'  favor  their  designs  to 
drive  you  from  the  remnant  of  land  yet  left  to  you,  expect  to 
escape  the  like  calamity,  should  you  unhappily  continue  to 
maintain  the  spirit  of  dissention  which  has  latterly  appeared 
amongst  you  ?  If  you  do,  permit  me,  an  aged  brother  and  sin- 
cere friend,  to  warn  you  of  your  danger,  and  plainly  to  tell  you 
that  you  will  find,  when  perhaps  it  may  be  too  late  to  avert  the 
consequences,  that  you  will  have  fallen  into  a  fatal  error. 

"  Brothers  !  Let  us  then  in  conclusion  earnestly  entreat 
you  to  pause  and  reflect  on  your  present  critical  situation,  and 
let  us  advise  you  to  lose  no  time,  by  mutual  forbearance  and 
concessions,  to  bury  and  forget  all  past  animosities,  and  hasten 
to  restore  peace,  concord  and  union  among  yourselves.  Ac- 
complish this,  and  you  will  place  yourselves  safe  from  the  arts 
and  intrigues  of  your  enemies. 

"  Brothers  !  Believing  as  we  most  certainly  do,  that  all 
the  efforts  of  your  friends  to  benefit  you  will  fail,  unless  you 
can  be  prevailed  on  to  live  together  in  harmony  as  a  united 
people,  we  have  felt  it  to  be  our  duty,  to  speak  plainly  to  you. 
It  may,  and  probably  will  be,  the  last  time  my  warning  voice 
will  ever  be  heard  among  you ;  and  although  I  may  not  be 
permitted  to  see  the  fulfilment  of  the  predictions  I  have  made, 
yet  I  assuredly  believe,  if  you  disregard  my  advice,  and  will 
persist  in  nourishing  discord  and  divisions,  there  are  those  pre- 
sent, who  will  live  to  witness  and  experience  the  sufferings  I 
have  described. 


165 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  these  remarks,  another  member  of 
the  committee  addressed  the  council  as  follows : 

"  Brothers  !  The  connection  which  now  exists  between 
the  Seneca  nation,  and  the  present  committees  of  the  four 
Yearly  Meeting-s  of  Friends,  was  commenced  about  seven 
years  ago,  at  a  time  when  you  were  involved  in  much  distress, 
arising  out  of  the  treaty  of  1838-  At  your  request  we  came 
forward  to  assist  you,  and  if  possible  to  prevent  the  alienation 
of  all  your  lands.  We  thought  we  saw  that  such  alienation, 
by  driving  you  into  the  wilderness  beyond  the  Mississippi, 
must  soon  be  followed  by  the  total  extinction  of  your  once 
powerful  nation.  Through  the  assistance  of  the  Great  Spirit 
this  dreadful  catastrophe  was  prevented,  by  the  restoration  of 
two  of  your  reservations,  sufficiently  fertile  and  extensive  to 
accommodate  your  families,  and  amply  to  supply  them  with  all 
the  necessaries  and  comforts  of  life. 

"  The  evils  to  which  you  were  subjected  for  want  of  some 
form  of  government  better  suited  to  your  more  advanced  state 
of  civilization,  soon  attracted  our  attention.  In  our  attempts  to 
set  aside  the  treaty  of  1838,  we  were  made  deeply  sensible  of  the 
insecurity  of  a  government  without  written  records — where  all 
its  official  acts  might  be  called  in  question,  and  where  nothing 
could  be  legally  proved.  The  treaty  by  which  all  your  reser- 
vations were  fraudulently  wTested  from  you,  was  signed  by 
forty-five  persons,  who  were  declared  by  the  Ogden  Company 
to  be  legally  appointed  chiefs, — This  you  denied,  and  we  knew 
it  was  not  true  ;  but  for  want  of  that  kind  of  evidence  which  a 
proper  constitution  of  government  will  always  provide,  to  sub- 
stantiate its  official  acts,  the  question  was  so  difficult  to  settle 
according  to  legal  requisitions,  that  your  friends  found  it  almost 
impossible  to  defend  you  against  the  most  palpable  frauds. 

"  Your  friends  every  where  saw  the  dangers  and  difficulties 
of  your  situation  under  your  old  form  of  government,  and  were 
anxious  for  your  relief.  By  their  exertions  and  the  truly  bene- 
volent disposition  of  the  New  York  Legislature,  a  law  was 
passed,  which  not  only  provided  you  with  a  government  amply 


166 

sufficient  to  remedy  the  defects  of  that  under  which  you  have 
heretofore  acted,  but  to  secure  you  against  depredations  on 
your  lands,  and  the  ruin  which  always  follows  the  introduction 
and  free  use  of  ardent  spirits. 

"  Brothers  !  The  passage  of  this  law  made  our  hearts 
glad,  for  we  saw  that  a  kind  Providence  had  thereby  thrown 
over  you  a  shield  of  defence,  under  which,  if  you  were  wise 
enough  to  seek  for  shelter,  you  w^ould  find  safety  and  peace. 

"  Brothers  !  We  cannot  express  to  you  our  surprise,  and 
our  pain,  when  we  heard  that  this  law,  so  eminently  calculated 
to  protect  you  from  evil,  and  to  promote  your  best  interests, 
had  become  a  subject  of  division  and  party  strife  among  3'^ou  : 
that  this  law,  the  fruit  of  the  purest  benevolence  toward  you  ; 
every  clause  of  which  conveys  to  you  some  blessing,  and 
in  which  is  not  to  be  found  a  single  provision  that  is  not 
in  your  favor,  should  be  made  a  subject  of  clamour,  and  dissen- 
tion ;  was  indeed  unexpected  by  us,  and  covered  our  minds 
with  gloom  and  discouragement. 

"  Brothers  !  We  would  charitably  hope  that  all  this  trou- 
ble among  you  has  arisen  from  misapprehension, — that  those 
who  have  opposed  this  law  have  mistaken  its  import ;  and  we 
indulge  the  hope,  that  time  and  experience  will  convince  them 
of  their  error.  It  is  hardly  possible,  that  wdth  upright  honest 
intentions,  they  can  long  remain  blind  to  their  true  interests ; 
;and  we  confidently  believe,  that  as  they  cherish  a  disposition 
vto  walk  in  the  right  path,  the  Great  Spirit  will  remove  the  dark 
•cloud  that  now  hangs  before  their  eyes,  and  cause  the  sun 
again  to  shine  brightly  upon  them. 

"Brothers!  We  speak  our  own  mind,  and  the  mind  of 
•your  best  friends  every  where  (so  far  as  it  has  come  to  our 
knowledge)  when  we  tell  you,  that  this  law,  by  which  you  are 
provided  with  a  regular  government,  under  the  protection  of 
the  Great  State  in  which  you  live,  is  eminently  calculated  to 
protect  you  from  fraud,  and  preserve  you  from  destruction. 
We  believe  that  those  who  would  persuade  you  to  reject  it,  are 
jour  worst   enemies — perhaps  the   verv  men   who  expect  to 


167 

profit  by  your  destruction.  Will  you,  with  your  eyes  open, 
walk  into  the  snares  of  vour  deadliest  foes? 

"  Brothers  !  As  has  already  been  stated  to  you,  the  great 
object  of  our  concern,  when  we  were  first  called  to  your  assist- 
ance, has  been  attained — a  home  has  been  secured  to  you  on 
the  lands  of  your  nation.  We  do  not  see  that  we  can  be  any 
longer,  of  much  service  to  you,  and  we  are  very  desirous  not 
to  be  burdensome  to  our  friends.  The  school  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  your  young  women  in  the  domestic  arts,  may  perhaps, 
be  usefully  continued — that  question  we  wish  to  submit  to 
your  decision,  and  also  the  question  whether  you  wish  that  the 
Farm  should  remain  longer  under  the  care  of  Friends — On 
these  points  we  expect  you  will  give  us  an  answer  before  we 
leave  the  neighborhood.  We  wish  however  to  be  understood, 
that  we  do  not  feel  any  diminution  of  friendship  for  our  Red 
Brethren,  but  are  disposed  to  render  them  any  counsel  or  as- 
sistance when  they  may  desire  it. 

One  of  the  women  Friends  on  the  committee  then  addressed 
the  council  as  follows : 

"  My  Brothers  and  Sisters  ! 

We  feel  thankful  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  his  kind  providence 
in  bringing  us  safely  to  this  place.  I  speak  on  behalf  of  the 
committee  of  women  Friends.  It  is  the  first  time  we  ever  at- 
tended an  Indian  Council,  and  we  have  listened  with  deep 
interest,  and  attention  to  all,  that  has  been  said.  It  appears  by  the 
statements  that  we  have  heard  made,  the  original  objects  for 
which  this  committee  w^ere  associated,  have  all  by  the  aid  of 
the  Great  Spirit  been  fully  accomplished,  and  that  you  are  now 
secured  in  the  possession  of  comfortable  homes,  which  cannot 
be  taken  from  you. 

"Sisters!  Finding  this  to  be  the  case,  the  committee- 
might  and  probably  would  have  felt  themselves  released  from 
the  necessity  of  continuing  their  labors  among  you.  But  ob- 
serving the  unfavourable  situation  in  which  the  female  portion 
of  your  people  were  placed.  Your  Sisters,  who  were  associa- 
ted with  the  Men  Friends  in  this  concern,  felt  it  to  be  their 


168 

duty  to  request  that  some  attention  should  be  given  to  you 
Much  had  been  done  for  the  Indian  men,  and  but  little  or  noth- 
ing for  you,  they  therefore  after  careful  reflection,  concluded 
at  a  Council  held  at  this  place  last  year,  to  bring  this  matter  to 
the  consideration  of  the  Chiefs,  and  lay  fully  before  them  the 
views  of  your  friends  in  relation  to  it. 

"  Sisters  !  The  result,  as  you  are  aware  was,  that  the  pro- 
priety and  advantages  of  the  measures  proposed,  were  so  clear- 
ly seen  by  that  Council,  that  by  a  decision,  which  we  believe 
was  generally  and  perhaps  unanimously  approved,  it  was  de- 
cided to  change  the  system  heretofore  pursued  in  regard  to  the 
division  of  labor  between  the  sexes,  and  to  withdraw  the  wo- 
men from  the  toilsome  employments  in  cultivating  the  land, 
and  other  occupations  unsuited  to  the  delicacy  of  our  sex,  and 
in  the  place  of  this,  to  encourage  you  to  employ  yourselves  in 
the  business  and  management  of  your  household  concerns — 
this  it  was  seen  and  admitted  by  all,  would  greatly  increase 
your  comfort,  and  effectively  promote  the  objects  desired  in 
relation  to  the  nation — that  is,  their  civilization  and  elevation 
to  a  proper  rank  and  station  in  the  community. 

"These  views  having  been  approved  by  you — your  Sisters 
who  we  represent,  believed  a  new  and  further  duty  had  now 
devolved  upon  the  committee.  Your  men  had  received  the 
instruction  necessity  for  them — The  w^omen  had  been  left  ne- 
glected, and  of  course  were  ignorant  of  the  proper  manner  of 
discharging  the  new  duties  to  which  they  were  about  to  be 
called.  And  it  was  concluded  to  establish  a  Manual  Labor 
School  for  their  instruction,  where,  in  succession,  your  young 
women  would  be  taught  all  the  requisite  branches  of  domestic 
and  household  business,  such  as  sewing,  knitting,  spinning, 
w^ashing,  ironing,  cooking,  and  indeed  all  other  appropriate  bu- 
siness. This  School  has  now  been  in  operation  for  near  one 
year,  and  it  is  proposed  if  you  desire  it,  to  continue  and  extend 
its  operations. 

''  Sisters  !  We  are  told  that  to  it,  will  probably  hereafter 
be  confined,  the  principal  care  and  labor  of  the  committee.    As 


169 

your  Sisters  we  feel  a  deep  interest  in  the  success  of  this  effort, 
and  earnestly  recommend  you,  to  extend  to  it  your  patronage 
and  encouragement.  Send  your  daughters  to  it,  and  do  not 
permit  the  advantages  it  proposes,  to  remain  unimproved,  but 
secure  to  yourselves  and  to  your  children  the  great  benefits  it 
offers.  Believe  me,  if  you  fail  to  avail  yourselves  of  so  favour- 
able an  opportunity  to  obtain  the  valuable  information  offered, 
incalculable  will  be  the  loss  your  children  will  sustain.  We 
therefore  entreat  you,  our  Sisters,  with  all  the  earnestness  of  an 
affectionate  solicitude,  to  comply  with  our  wishes — fully  believ- 
ing that  if  you  do,  you  will  live  to  realize  the  desire  of  your 
hearts,  and  that  before  your  earthly  pilgrimage  is  accomplished, 
you  wdll  have  the  blessed  assurance,  you  are  leaving  behind 
you  worthy  successors,  who  will  carry  forward  the  great  work 
of  improvement  so  happily  began  by  you,  after  you  will  have 
been  gathered  to  your  Fathers." 

These  addresses  were  listened  to  with  marked  attention,  by 
the  Chiefs  and  others  present,  among  whom  were  a  considera- 
ble number  of  women.  After  some  conference  among  the 
Chiefs,  it  was  concluded  to  refer  the  subjects  introduced  by 
Friends  to  a  committee,  who  were  desired  to  confer  with  our 
committee  and  empowered  to  enter  into  such  arrangements  as 
might  be  agreeable  to  both  parties.  A  large  committee  of 
Chiefs  were  accordingly  appointed,  and  it  being  intimated  that 
the  attendance  of  a  committee  of  their  women  w^ould  be  agree- 
able to  Friends,  these  Chiefs,  with  a  number  of  Indian  women 
who  had  been  appointed,  met  us  in  conference  at  the  time  pro- 
posed. The  general  Council  having  in  the  mean  time  been 
closed. 

The  conference  was  attended  by  about  twenty-five  of  the 
Indians,  nearly  one  third  of  whom  were  females. 

After  a  short  pause  a  member  of  the  committee  of  Frielids 
rose  and  explained  to  the  Indians,  the  present  views  and  pros- 
pects of  Friends  in  relation  to  them.  They  were  again  re- 
minded, that  the  original  objects  and  purposes  of  the  four 
Yearly  Meetings,  when  they  associated  as  a  joint  committee, 
22 


170 

had  been  fully  accomplished,  and  their  lands  made  secure,  that 
in  addition  to  this,  a  municipal  government,  adapted  to  their 
wants,  and  affording  ample  protection  to  their  persons  and  pro- 
perty, had  been  provided  for  them,  and  a  system  established 
by  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  for  the  school  education  of 
their  children — and  that  they  were  now  sufficiently  instructed 
in  the  management  of  their  farms,  and  had  the  requisite  means 
and  conveniences  for  carrying  them  on.  Under  these  circum- 
stances it  was  again  remarked,  that  Friends  might  be  justified 
in  withdrawing  and  leaving  them  to  walk  alone,  and  probably 
would  have  done  so,  but  a  concern  having,  as  they  weie  aware, 
arisen  on  the  part  of  our  women  Friends,  on  acount  of  the  un- 
favorable situation  in  which  their  females  still  remained.  The 
attention  of  our  Indian  Brothers  had,  at  the  Council  last  year, 
been  called  to  this  subject,  when  they  were  advised  to  with- 
draw their  women  from  the  toilsome  labors  of  the  field,  and 
encourage  them  to  occupy  themselves  in  the  more  appropriate 
business  of  household  affairs.  That  as  this  advice  had  been 
approved  by  them,  we  proposed  to  open  a  female  Manual  La- 
bor School,  for  the  instruction  of  their  young  women,  in  the 
employments  which  we  had  recommended  they  should  hereaf- 
ter be  engaged;  and  it  was  to  this  single  object  we  now  inten- 
ded, hereafter,  to  devote  our  care  and  attention. 

With  this  explanation,  we  now  submitted  the  matter  to  their 
consideration,  and  desired  them  to  be  free  and  plain  in  giving 
us  their  decision.  The  house  as  now  constructed  it  was  ob- 
served, had  been  found  too  small  for  the  accommodation  of  all 
the  scholars  that  were  offered,  and  it  was  suggested  that  it  be 
enlarged — That  if  agreeable  to  them,  we  were  willing  to  be  at 
the  expense  of  putting  up  the  requisite  additional  room,  pro- 
vided thev  would  asrree  to  furnish  the  materials,  and  were 
content  to  let  us  occupy  the  farm,  on  the  same  terms  as  here- 
tofore— as  long  as  it  might  be  agreeable  to  both  parties. 

Young  Chief  in  reply  said,  '.'Our  brothers  have  made  us 
plainly  to  understand  their  propositions  and  I  am  instructed  to 
say  we  fully  approve  them.     We  therefore  hope  they  will  now 


171 

go  on  and  prosecute  their  efforts  to  carry  their  views  into  effect. 
We  will  place  our  children  wholly  under  your  exclusive  care 
and  control.  We  are  grateful  for  the  kindness  you  have 
shown  to  us,  and  we  return  our  thanks  to  the  Society  of  Friends 
for  sending  you  so  far  to  visit  us." 

'*  I  have  always  had  the  greatest  confidence  in  the  Society 
of  Friends,  they  have  ever  been  faithful  and  true  to  the  Indians, 
and  were  never  known  to  give  ihem  any  advice  but  what  was 
calculated  to  i>romote  their  happin  ess — of  this  we  have  now 
again  at  the  pr  esent  time  a  new  evidence. 

"  Brothers  !  You  have  often  recommended  us  to  change 
the  employments  of  our  women,  and  this,  as  well  as  all  your 
other  advice  to  us,  I  fully  believe  is  for  our  good.  It  is  my 
opinion  that  God  has  made  women  better  than  men,  and  I  know 
they  are  wiser.  I  hope  they  will  hereafter  be  encouraged  to 
employ  themselves  in  the  business  you  have  recommended.  I 
have  thought  it  right  to  say  this.  We  are  glad  to  see  the  wo- 
men Friends  who  have  come  on  with  you  to  assist  you  by  their 
advice.  We  believe  your  motives  are  good,  and  we  think  it  a 
mercy  to  us,  that  we  have  had  an  opportunity  of  being  so  many 
days  with  you,  in  our  late  Council. 

Brothers  !  We  know  that  we  are  poor  weak  mortals;  and 
we  feel  that  we  need  vour  assistance.  We  cannot  number  our 
days,  and  may  never  again  meet  you.  We  are  told  you  will 
leave  us  lo-morrow,  on  your  return  to  your  homes.  We  will 
pray  the  Great  Spirit  that  he  may  guide  and  protect  you  on 
your  way  to  your  families.  It  is  true,  and  it  is  a  consolation 
to  us,  that  we  may  visit  one  another  in  spirit,  when  far  distant 
from  e-'ich  other. 

•'  Brothers  !  I  will  relate  all  that  has  been  said  this  even- 
ing to  a  general  Council  of  our  people  and  will  try  to  prevail 
o>)  them  to  Ibllow  your  advice. 

"Gua-na-ea,  one  of  the  female  Indians  who  had  been  dole- 
gated  to  attend  this  conference,  rose  and  said,  "I  am  one  of 
the  females  appointed  to  come  here  and  listen  to  what  our 
friends  might  have  to  say.     This  is  the  first  time  any  oppoitu- 


172 

niiy  has  been  offered  for  one  of  m}'-  sex  to  be  heard  in  any  of 
the  deliberations  of  our  Nation.  We  feel  thankful  for  this  fa- 
vor, and  congratulate  ourselves  that  we  have  been  permitted 
to  meet  our  female  friends  here  in  Council,  and  trust,  anew 
and  better  prospect  is  about  opening  before  us. 

"  I  am  instructed  by  the  women  now  present  to  say,  tliat  we 
fully  approve  the  propositions  that  have  been  made  in  refer- 
ence to  the  education  of  our  children,  and  that  it  is  our  earnest 
desire  they  may  be  instructed  in  the  manner  recommended. 
We  will  do  all  in  our  power  to  co-operate  in  and  promote  so 
good  a  work.'' 

Job  Pierce  observed,  that  "  he  would  be  pleased  to  hear  the 
female  Friends  present  speak  to  their  women,  who  were  then 
attending,  he  hoped  they  would  give  them  such  advice  as  they 
might  think  useful."  He  remarked  that  "  new  light  had  bro- 
ken in  upon  them  in  respect  to  the  proper  station,  duties,  and 
employments  of  women,  which  he  hoped  and  believed  would 
lead  to  the  most  important  and  beneficial  consequences." 

One  of  the  women  Friends  of  the  committee  then  rose  and 
said,  "  The  remarks  of  our  sister  who  has  just  spoken,  have 
been  grateful  to  me — they  afford  an  evidence  of  the  solicitude 
felt  by  our  Indian  sisters,  for  the  right  education  of  their  chil- 
dren, and  I  hope  they  will  continue  to  give  their  particular  at- 
tention to  this  matter.  To  mothers,  properly  belongs  the  care 
and  management  of  the  education  of  their  children,  and  espe- 
cially of  their  daughters — they  are  therefore  responsible  for  the 
discharge  of  that  important  trust.  In  the  discharge  of  this,  as 
well  as  all  our  other  duties,  we  should  look  to  the  Great  Spirit 
to  strengthen  our  endeavors,  and  give  us  wisdom  rightly  to 
direct  our  steps.  It  is  in  early  infancy  that  lasting  impressions 
are  made  upon  children,  and  we  cannot  begin  too  early  to  in- 
stil into  their  young  and  tender  minds,  the  principles  of  virtue 
— to  impress  upon  them  the  necessity  of  being  honest,  indus- 
trious, and  correctly  moral  in  all  their  conduct — to  be  neat  and 
cleanly  in  their  persons,  and  respectful  in  their  behavior.  Thus 


173 

as  they  advance  in  age,  they  will  become  a  blessing  to  their 
parents,  and  useful  in  the  community. 

*'  Sisters  !  I  hope  you  will  send  your  children  to  the 
school  your  friends  have  established  here,  and  that  they  may 
receive  the  advantages  it  oifers  ;  but  you  must  not  think  your 
duty  is  performed,  even  after  they  may  have  been  educated. 
On  returning  to  their  homes,  they  should  practice  ihere,  the 
business  they  may  have  been  taught,  and  thus  become  good 
practical  house  keepers. 

"  Sisters  !  We  have  visited  a  number  of  you  in  your  own 
houses,  and  have  been  much  gratified  to  find  some  of  you  far 
more  comfortably  situated  than  we  had  expected ;  but  there  is 
still  great  room  for  improvement.  We  hope  you  will  go  for- 
ward and  not  stop.  Had  circumstances  permitted  we  would 
gladly  have  visited  many  more  of  you. 

"  Sisters  !  The  time  is  near  when  we  must  leave  you,  and 
it  is  with  feelings  of  affectionate  regard,  and  sincere  desires  for 
your  welfare  that  we  shall  part  from  you,  and  if  it  be  the  will 
of  the  Great  Spirit,  that  we  should  never  again  see  each  other, 
we  shall  carry  with  us  a  grateful  recollection  of  the  satisfaction 
we  have  enjoyed,  while  we  were  mingled  with  you  in  our  late 
deliberations  together,  as  well  as  in  social  intercourse,  assuring 
you  of  our  fervent  desires  for  your  present  and  everlasting  wel- 
fare, we  bid  you  an  affectionate  farewell." 

John  Cook  said  he  wished  to  make  a  few  brief  remarks. 
"  The  Great  Spirit  has,  in  his  goodness,  permitted  us  to  meet 
at  this  time,  and  happily  to  conclude  the  interesting  business 
in  which  we  have  been  engaged.  I  feel  from  my  inmost  soul 
grateful  for  the  advice  our  friends  have  given  us,  as  well  as  for 
the  deep  concern  they  have  showed  for  our  welfare.  Since  I 
was  a  child  the  Quakers  have  been  our  constant  unwaverins: 
friends,  and  it  rejoices  my  heart  to  see  their  descendants  still 
willing  to  assist  us. 

"Brothers  !  There  are  remaining  but  few  of  the  old  men, 
who  your  fathers  succored,  they  are  nearly  all  fallen  and  are 


174 

gone,  but  we  are  happy  to  find  that  your  kindness  is  continued 
to  their  children.'' 

Young  Chiel  stated  it  was  now  drawing  late,  but  he  hoped 
he  would  be  indulged  in  making  a  few  remarks.  "  He  said, 
when  I  was  a  small  boy  some  Friends  made  a  visit  to  the  In- 
dians, and  offered  to  assist  them,  and  they  left  some  farming 
implements,  and  a  few  cattle ;  some  time  afterwards  these 
Friends  made  them  another  visit,  and  offered  premiums  for  the 
culture  of  wheat.  The  Indians  were  told  that  they  wanted 
their  land,  and  upon  this  they  became  alarmed.  The  Friends 
assured  them  they  wanted  none  of  their  land  or  peltry,  and 
they  gave  them  a  writing  on  parchment,  pledging  themselves 
that  they  never  would  ask  either  land  or  other  remuneration  for 
any  thing  they  might  do  for  them."  (This  parchment  he  now 
produced,  signed  by  a  number  of  Friends  at  Philadelphia, 
scarcely  of  one  of  whom,  it  was  stated,  is  now  living.)  He 
concluded  by  saying,  "  the  Friends  had  faithfully  redeemed 
this  pledge,  and  had  never,  to  this  day,  asked  or  accepted  the 
smallest  remuneration  for  any  thing  they  had  done  for  the 
Indians." 

The  committee  then  proceeded  to  confer  with  the  Indians 
upon  the  requite  arrangements  for  enlarging  the  accommoda- 
tions of  the  school  and  for  its  future  management.  This  being 
ao-reed  upon  and  settled,  a  joint  committee  of  Indian  men  and 
women  were  appointed,  to  visit  and  superintend  it,  as  occasion 
might  render  necessary. 

It  will  now  be  proper  to  notice  more  particularly  ,the  circum- 
Btances  which  occasioned  the  call  of  this  council,  and  which 
have  been  incidentally  alluded  to,  in  the  preceding  narrative. 

By  reference  to  official  documents  in  the  Indian  Department 
it  appears,  that  a  petition  from  a  small  party  of  discontented 
-emigrationists,  at  the  Tuscarora  village,  dated  March  4th,  1845^ 
was  sent  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  expressing  a  de- 
sire to  remove  to  the  West.  It  also  further  appears,  that  a  let- 
ter had  been  received  by  the  Department,  from  a  certain  D. 
G.  Garnsey,  dated  May  8th,  1845,  stating  that  a  portion  of  the 


175 

Senecas,  and  others  of  the  six  nations  in  western  New  York, 
were  now  ready  to  remove. 

The  Government  justly  fearing  there  might  be  persons  so 
anxious  to  possess  themselves  of  the  moneys,  appropriated  by 
law  for  the  removal  and  support  of  emigrating  Indians,  as  to 
resort  to  fraudulent  means  for  that  purpose,  by  letters  warned 
the  Indian  Agent  at  Buffalo,  to  be  on  his  guard  against  such 
impositions.  Afterwards,  several  petitioners  from  small  fragments 
of  the  Senecas  and  other  tribes,  were  prevailed  on  to  sign  me- 
morials to  the  President,  asking  to  be  removed,  and  begging 
appropriations  for  that  purpose.  To  those  well  acquamted  with 
these  movements,  there  is  sufficient  evidence,  that  persons  in- 
terested in  their  removal,  were  at  the  bottom  of  all  this  busi- 
ness. 

Of  the  six  nations,  once  the  owners  and  lords  of  the  soil, 
within  the  boundaries  of  the  great  Commonwealth  of  New 
York,  there  are  many  smaU  remnants  scattered  over  the  western 
parts  of  that  State,  in  a  condition  of  wretched  vagrancy ;  re- 
duced by  idleness  and  intemperance  to  poverty,  and  ready,  for 
a  trifling  compensation,  to  have  their  names  attached  to  any 
memorial,  without  regard  to  its  objects.  For  a  small  sum  of 
money,  they  will  lend  themselves  to  the  service  of  any  artful 
intriguer,  whose  designs  are-  to  defraud  the  Government. 

By  an  Act  of  Congress  passed  on  the  3d  of  the  Fourth 
month,  1843,  the  sum  of  twenty  thousand  four  hundred  and 
seventy-seven  dollars  and  fifty  cents,  was  appropriated  for  the 
removal  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  Indians^  to  the  country  west 
and  south  of  the  Missouri  river.  This  appropriation  was  granted 
in  consequence  of  repeated  assurances  made  to  the  Indian  De- 
partment, that  this  number  was  anxious  to  emigrate.  The 
glittering  prize  thus  hung  up  in  the  face  of  the  noon-day  sun, 
was  so  bright  and  alluring,  that  a  goodly  number  of  hungry 
candidates,  was  soon  seen  entering  the  lists,  and  struggling  for 
the  prize.  But  alas  !  for  the  conditions.  Unless  two  hundred 
and  fifty  Indians  could  be  procured  to  enrol  themselves  on  the 
emigration  engagement,  and  actually  embark  for  the  west,  the 


176 

stakes  could  not  be  legally  won.  Here  was  the  great  difficulty. 
And  yet  one  would  suppose,  that  out  of  four  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  eighty-jive  Indians,  belonging  to  the  following 
tribes,  to  wit:  the  Senecas,  Onondagas,  Cayugas,  Tuscaroras, 
Oneidas,  St.  Regis's,  Stockbridges,  Munsees,  and  Brothertowns, 
by  raking  up  all  the  poor  degraded  individuals,  and  gathering 
together  all  the  sincere  emigrationists,  such  a  small  proportion 
of  the  whole  might  easily  be  procured  :  especially  if  these  can- 
didates for  an  agency,  had  told  the  truth,  when  they  asserted 
that  large  bodies  of  the  Indians  were  anxious  to  remove. 

By  these  movements  the  Government  had  been  induced  to 
believe  that  there  really  Avas  an  emigration  party,  sufficiently 
large  to  meet  the  objects  of  the  late  appropriation,  and  to  war- 
rant the  appointment  of  an  Emigration  Agent.  Under  this  im- 
pression the  Secretary  of  War,  by  a  letter  dated  Sept.  12, 
1845,  addressed  to  Dr.  Abraham  Hogeboom,  appointed  him  to 
that  office.  Instructing  him  however  that  no  movement  must 
be  made,  unless  the  full  complem.ent  of  emigrants  should  de- 
sire, bona  fide,  to  remove  to  the  west,  and  Hogeboom  was  also 
explicitly  informed,  that  "the  Government  w^ould  not  under- 
take the  emigration  of  these  Indians  unless  two  hundred  and 
fifty  of  them,  then  residing  in  the  State  of  New  York,  exclu- 
sive of  Canada  Indians,  should  muster  themselves,  and  actually 
go  with  the  Agent."  As  if  to  leave  no  door  open  for  misun- 
derstanding, the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affiiirs  at  Washington 
also  addressed  a  letter  to  Hogeboom,  dated  Oct.  2d,  in  which  it 
was  expressly  declared  that  ''  two  hundred  and  fifty  Indians  is 
the  smallest  number  that  will  be  emisrated." 

On  the  27th  of  that  month,  Hogeboom  wmie  to  the  Depart- 
ment, giving  it  information  that  "two  hundred  and  nine  In- 
dians had  enrolled  themselves,  and  that  some  of  their  chiefs  had 
assured  him,  that  at  Buffiilo,  Cattaraugus,  and  Alleghany,  there 
would  be  about  tv/enty  more.  Thus  the  utmost  number  that 
the  Doctor  could  then  even  dare  to  hope  for,  was  two  hundred 
and  twenty-nine.  If  that  letter  Avas  written  in  order  to  feel  after 
the  temper  of  the  Department,  and  to  ascertain  how  far  it  was 


177 

disposed  to  relax  its  determination,  to  send  no  less  away,  than 
two  hundred  and  fifty,  he  was  not  left  long  in  suspense,  for  by 
a  letter  dated  Nov.  4th,  the  Secretary  of  War  again  reminded 
him  that  he  was  ''  selected  as  Emigrating  Agent"  to  act  only 
in  the  event  that  two  hundred  and  fifty  would  go.''  But  on  the 
7th  of  that  month,  Hogeboom  again  writes  to  him,  dating  his 
letter  from  Buffalo,  saying  he  had  "  ascertained  that  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty  Indians  had  enrolled  themselves,  and  had  fixed 
on  the  20th  of  that  month  as  the  time  for  starting."  This  sud-* 
den  and  unexpected  movement  was  not  agreeable  to  the  Secre- 
tary, on  account  of  the  advanced  state  of  the  season ;  but 
hoping  they  might  get  out  before  the  lakes  and  rivers  should 
be  impassable  on  account  of  the  ice,  he  immediately  ordered 
provisions,  for  their  sustenance  at  their  intended  homes,  to  be 
procured  and  in  readiness  by  the  time  of  their  arrival. 

Notwithstanding  all  these  assurances  on  the  part  of  Hoge- 
boom, when  the  time  for  testing  their  truth  came,  the  whole 
scheme  failed :  a  sufficient  number  of  the  Indians  could  not 
be  persuaded  to  go.  The  emigration  was  therefore  indefinitely 
postponed. 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  foregoing  statement,  that  on  the  27th 
of  the  10th  month,  Hogeboom  wrote  to  the  Department,  that 
only  209  had  enrolled  themselves,  and  he  then  admitted  that 
only  twenty  more  could  be  hoped  for  in  addition ;  of  course 
there  was  no  prospect  of  emigration  that  season.  Indeed, 
the  Doctor  says  in  that  letter,  speaking  of  the  Indians,  ''they 
do  not  think  they  will  be  able  to  obtain  the  number  of  250  to 
emigrate  this  fall."  Up  to  this  time  nothing  had  been  done  to 
induce  the  War  Department  to  advance  any  money  to  the  Agent. 
So  that  not  only  the  emigration  scheme  had  failed,  but,  so  far 
as  the  Doctor  had  been  moved  by  pecuniary  motives,  he  had 
also  failed.  This  was  no  doubt  a  trying  circumstance,  but  the 
trial  did  not  long  continue,  for  only  ten  days  after  he  had  writ- 
ten to  the  Department,  that  the  Indians  did  not  think  they 
could  emigrate  this  fall ;  he  wrote  again  to  the  Secretary  of 
War,  under  date  Nov.  7,  1845,  saying  "  /  have  ascertained  that 
23 


178 

260  Indians  have  enrolled  themselves  for  emigration,  and  have 
fixed  the  time  for  starting  on  the  20fh  inst."  The  following  is 
an  extract  of  a  letter  from  the  Department  to  Hogeboom,  dated 
Nov.  14th,  in  answer  to  his  of  the  7th.  It  was  no  doubt  such 
a  letter  as  the  Doctor  much  desired. 

Sir— 

I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  7th  inst.  informing  the 
Department  of  the  enrolment  of  260  New  York  Indians,  for 
emigration  to  their  western  home,  and  proceed,  now  there  ap- 
pears to  be  no  doubt  of  the  movement  taking  place^  to  give  you 
Bome  instructions,  &c.  •  *  *  *  A  requisition  for  10,000 
dollars  has  this  day  been  issued  in  your  favor,  with  which  you 
will  be  charged,  and  held  accountable  for,  under  the  head  of 
**  Removal,  &c.  of  New  York  Indians,"  per  act  3d  March,  1843. 

Signed 

W.  MEDILL,  Commissioner. 

Thus  the  Doctor  was  put  into  possession  of  the  sum  of  ten 
thousand  dollars,  and  we  hear  no  more  about  the  two  hundred 
and  sixty  Indians,  nor  of  any  more  trouble  about  Indian  emi- 
gration, during  the  remainder  of  that  year. 

The  proceedings  of  Dr.  Hogeboom,  and  other  persons  inter- 
ested in  removing  the  Senecas,  necessarily  produced  great 
agitation,  and  a  very  unsettled  state  among  those  who  had  no 
view  of  emigrating.  The  chiefs,  on  the  reservations  of  Alle- 
ghany and  Cattaraugus,  harrassed  and  perplexed  by  this  vexa- 
tious state  of  things,  at  length  determined  to  address  the  Presi- 
dent on  the  occasion.  This  application  procured  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  council,  which  was  held  at  Cattaraugus  in  the  6th 
month,  1846,  of  which  we  have  before  given  a  particular  ac- 
cout.     [See  page  156  and  sequel.] 

In  the  spring  of  1846,  Dr.  Hogeboom,  hearing  that  the  Gov- 
ernment had  called  a  council  of  the  Senecas,  for  the  express 
purpose  of  inquiring  officially,  whether  there  was  an  emigration 
party  among  them,  and  if  there  was  one,  what  was  its  number, 


'il 


179 

made  great  exertions  to  push  off  his  emigrants.  Regardless  of 
the  positive  instructions  of  the  Government,  and  without  its 
knowledge,  he  hastily  collected  as  many  of  the  Indians  as  he 
could  bring  under  his  influence,  and  with  them  embarked  in  a 
steamboat  at  Silver  Creek,  on  Lake  Erie,  near  the  Cattaraugus 
Reservation.  The  circumstances  and  manner  of  this  embarka- 
tion throws  much  hght  on  the  motives  and  conduct  of  this 
Emigrating  Agent.  The  subject  is  graphically  related  in  a 
speech  of  Israel  Jemison,  as  made  in  the  council  of  1846,  and 
addressed  to  the  Commissioner  of  the  United  States.  [See 
pages  159,  160.] 

The  painful,  and  indeed  the  awful  results  of  this  inhuman 
conduct  of  Dr.  Hogeboom,  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the 
Memorial  of  the  Seneca  chiefs,  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  invoking  the  aid  of  the  Government,  to  bring  back  the 
wretched  surviving  remnant  of  their  poor  duped  people-  It  is 
as  foUows. 

To  his  Excellency  James  K.  Polk,  President  of  the   United 

States. 

The  Memorial  of  the  undersigned  chiefs  and  warriors  of  the 
Seneca  nation  of  Indians,  residing  in  the  State  of  New  York, 

Respectfully  showeth, 

That  a  party  of  the  Seneca  nation,  consisting,  as  your  me- 
morialists have  been  informed,  of  sixty-two  persons,  together 
with  a  portion  of  the  Cayugas,  Onondagas  and  Oneidas,  resi- 
ding with  us,  and   a  party  of  the   Tuskaroras,  residing   near 
Lewistown,  in  Niagara  County,  left  the  State  of  New  York  last 
spring,  to  settle  in  the  country  west  of  Missouri.     That  your 
memorialists  have  been  credibly  informed,  by  letters  received 
from  individuals  among  them,  and  by  the  statements  of  such 
as  have  returned,  that  great  distress  has,  from  their  first  arrival 
there,  existed  among  them,  and  does  still  exist   without  miti- 
gation, in  consequence  of  the  insalubrity  of  the  climate, — that 
twenty  persons,  of  the  sixty-two  Senecas,  were  already  dead, 
some  six  weeks  since,  and  about  the  same  proportion  of  our 


-^ 


180 

friends  of  the  other  tribes, — that  many  others  were  sick, — that 
three  of  the  leading  Seneca  chiefs,  one  of  the  Onondagas,  one 
of  the  Oneidas,  and  a  leading  man  of  the  Tuskaroras  were 
dead.  That  the  remnant  of  the  people,  with  very  few  excep- 
tions, were  exceedingly  anxious  to  return,  but  were  destitute 
of  the  means  of  doing  so, — that  many  of  them  have  sent  ear- 
nest requests  to  us  for  assistance,  to  enable  them  to  do  so,  but 
that  only  a  few  families  amongst  us  are  able  to  furnish  efficient 
relief  to  their  suffering  friends.  In  view  of  all  these  facts,  we 
would  respectfully  request  the  President,  to  furnish  the  neces- 
sary assistance  to  bring  back  the  remnant  of  the  party  to  their 
former  homes,  and  to  arrange  the  payment  of  the  annuities  be- 
longing to  them,  so  that  in  future  they  may  receive  them  here. 
Although  they  went  out  from  us  against  our  earnest  remon- 
strance and  entreaty,  and  some  of  them  mocking  our  expres- 
sions of  concern  for  them,  as  we  stood  around  the  boat  when 
they  were  going  on  board,  still  we  shall  rejoice  to  give  them  a 
home  again  amongst  us,  for  they  are  our  brethren,  and  their 
sofferings  grieve  us  to  the  heart.  Thirteen  of  the  Senecas 
have  already  returned,  and  three  others  we  have  heard  are  on 
the  way.  This  makes  the  condition  of  those  unable  to  return, 
the  more  lonely  and  wretched. 

We  hope  the  President  will  not  say  it  was  their  own  fault 
that  they  went  there:  for  even  if  they  were  to  be  blamed  for 
doing  so,  they  have  already  suffered  a  fearful  punishment. 
But  we  think,  if  the  President  were  acquainted  with  the  cir- 
cumstances, he  would  pity  rather  than  blame  them  for  going. 
Notice  had  been  repeatedly  given  from  the  War  Department, 
that  unless  a  company  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  emigrants 
could  be  organised,  none  would  be  removed.  Such  a  compa- 
ny having  failed  to  be  organised  in  the  fall  of  1845,  we  were 
told  that  the  department  had  required  the  removing  agent  to 
refund  the  money  he  had  received,  for  the  purpose  of  removing 
them.  In  the  spring  of  the  present  year,  certain  men  were 
running  from  house  to  house  among  our  people,  saying  that 
the  agent  still  held  the  money  in  his  hands,  and  would  remove 


r' 


181 

all  who  wished  to  go,  upon  the  opening  of  navigation.  Directly 
after  notice  was  received  from  government,  that  commissioners 
were  appointed,  and  that  a  council  would  be  held  on  a  speci- 
fied day,  to  ascertain  if  the  requisite  number  wished  to  emi- 
grate. When  this  became  known,  it  was  immediately  report- 
ed that  the  removing  agent,  (Dr.  Hogeboom,)  had  already  con- 
tracted for  their  passage, — that  the  steamboat  would  take  them 
in  at  Cattaraugus  Creek,  on  a  certain  day,  and  that  it  was  not 
necessary  for  them  to  wait  for  the  action  of  the  government. 
The  agent  soon  after  appeared,  accompanied  by  two  individuals 
from  Buffalo,  who,  as  we  were  afterwards  credibly  informed, 
instigated  him  to  practise  this  fraud  upon  the  government,  and 
endeavoured,  by  representing  the  country  west,  as  a  paradise,  to 
induce  a  large  company  to  go  on  board  their  boat.  Some  of 
our  friends,  who  had  not  disposed  of  their  effects,  were  told 
not  to  mind  their  stuff,  for  the  country  to  which  they  were 
going  was  so  rich,  and  they  would  prosper  there  so  rapidly, 
that  they  would  never  feel  the  loss  of  it ;  and  one  family  were 
hurried  away  from  their  table,  leaving  every  thing  upon  it 
just  as  it  was  when  they  arose  from  dinner.  We  have  reason 
to  believe  that  the  whole  company,  except  a  few  leaders,  most 
of  whom  are  now  dead,  were  deluded  by  these  flattering  but 
false  representations  of  those  white  men,  and  inasmuch  as  the 
removing  agent  appeared  on  the  ground  with  the  money  in  his 
hand,  these  simple  people  were  made  to  discredit  the  orders 
received  from  the  department,  relative  to  the  council  of  the 
2d  June.  Justice  would  indeed  seem  to  require,  that  these 
white  men  should  repair  the  injury  they  have  done  to  us,  and 
not  to  us  alone,  but  also  to  the  government.  But  we  have  no 
power  to  compel  them.  Our  only  resource  is  to  appeal  to  the 
government  in  behalf  of  our  afflicted  and  desponding  brethren, 
who  are  perishing  under  the  accumulated  pressure  of  disap- 
pointed expectations — grief  for  the  dead,  and  the  heavy  hand 
of  disease  upon  their  own  persons. 

We  trust  our  appeal  will  not  be  disregarded.     We   think  it 
is  the  dictate  of  humanity,  and  we  confidently  believe  that  the 


>/ 


182 

voice  of  the  whole  country  would  approve  the  course  of  the 
President,  if  he  should  grant  the  needed  relief.  We  would  beg 
leave  further  to  request  the  President  to  make  known  to  us 
through  our  friend  Philip  E.  Thomas  of  Baltimore,  who  will 
present  our  memorial,  the  decision  which  he  may  make  in 
regard  to  it.  And  your  memorialists,  as  in  duty  bound,  will 
ever  pray,  &.c. 


Cattaraugus  Reservation, 
December  16,  1846. 

James  x  Shongo, 
N.  T.  Strong, 
Robert  x  Gordon, 
Daniel  Two  Guns 
William  x  Johnson, 
Benjamin  Williams, 
John  Kennedy,  jr. 
David  X  Snow, 
Joseph  X  Snow, 
Solom.on  W.  Lane, 
Henry  Tw^o  Guns, 
John  Taylor, 
Governor  x  Blacksnake, 
William  x  Patterson, 
S.  M.  Patterson, 
James  x  Stephenson, 
Jabez  Stephenson, 


Moses  Stephenson, 

William  x  Jones, 

Zechariah  x  L.  Jamison, 

Samuel  x  Wilson, 

John  X  Bolden, 

George  Greenblanket, 

George  Lindsay, 

John  Hudson, 

Jim  X  Junis, 

Little  X  John, 

John  X  Luke, 

John  X  Green  Blanket, 

Israel  x  Jamison, 
Moses  X  Pierce, 
Abraham  x  John, 
Peter  x  White, 
Charles  Greybeard. 


In  reply  to  this  memorial  the  following  answer  was  received 
from  the  Indian  Bureau  at  Washington. 

'•War  Department,  Office  of  Indians  Affairs,  > 

Feb'y  23,  1847,  5 

Sir — The  application  for  the  removal  of  the  Seneca  Indians 
laack  to  New  York,  who  emigrated  west  from  there  last  sum- 
mer, has  been  duly  considered.  With  every  disposition  to  gra- 
tify the  wishes  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  of  the  New  York 


/ 


183 

Indians,  so  far  as  it  could  properly  be  done,  I  have  to  inform 
you,  that  the  Executive  Department  of  the  Government,  has 
neither  the  authority,  nor  the  means  to  justify  a  compliance 
with  their  desire.  In  this  particular.  Congress  only  could  au- 
thorize the  measure,  and  provide  the  requisite  means  for  the 
expense  it  would  involve. 

Respectfully,  your  ob't  serv'nt. 

W.  MEDILL. 
To  PHILIP  E.  THOMAS,  Esq. 

Baltimore,  Md. 

When  the  chiefs  were  made  acquainted  with  the  result  of  this 
application,  they  addressed  the  following  communication  to  the 
Joint  Committee  of  Friends — 

Cattaraugus  Reservation,  March  22d,  1847. 
Respected  Friend, 

Philip  E.  Thomas — 
Permit  us  to  address  you  a  few  lines,  and  through  you  the 
committee  of  the  Four  Yearly  Meetings  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  in  reference  to  the  condition  of  our  suffering  friends 
and  brethren  still  remaining  in  the  country  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. We  suppose  the  committee  already  are  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  the  means  used,  to  decoy  those  Indians  off,  in 
contravention  of  the  instructions  of  the  Government  to  the  re- 
moving Agent.  They  were  flattered  with  prospects  of  almost 
unbounded  prosperity.  The  country  was  described  as  a  para- 
dise :  and  they  were  told,  that  their  friends  here,  who  might 
now  refuse  to  accompany  them,  would  soon  be  compelled  ta 
follow,  and  that  it  would  be  far  better  to  go  now  and  get  well 
started  in  their  improvement,  &c.  as  soon  as  possible.  But 
when  they  reached  that  country,  instead  of  being  a  paradise^^ 
they  found  it  rather  the  land  of  desolation,  disease  and  deaths 
and  a  large  proportion  of  them  are  now  lying  beneath  the  turf* 
The  survivors  are  discoura2;ed  and  broken  hearted,  in  addition 
to  their  sufferings  from  the  disease,  which  has  swept  off  their 
companions,  and  they  are  anxious  to  return.     Application  has 


184 

been  made  to  the  Government  in  their  behalf,  without  obtain- 
ing relief ;  and  from  a  recent  letter  from  Dr.  Wilson,  we  learn 
that  a  similar  application  to  the  Legislature  of  this  State  is  likely 
to  fail.  We  cannot  make  any  appropriation  from  our  National 
funds  until  the  meeting  of  our  national  council,  as  a  law  has 
been  passed  which  would  forbid  it.  But  if  we  delay  till  that 
meeting,  it  will  expose  our  friends  to  the  horrors  of  the  sickly 
season  once  more,  and  doubtless  many  more  of  them  will  perish 
in  consequence. 

Under  these  circumstances,  we  see  no  other  resource  but  to 
look  again  to  those  kind  hearted  friends,  who  have  done  so 
much  already  to  relieve  us  in  our  distresses.  Our  obligations 
are  already  very  great,  and  we  cherish  deep  feelings  of  grati- 
tude for  past  favors.  We  would  not  willingly  burden  .your 
kindness  now,  were  it  not  for  the  peculiarly  difficult  and  per- 
plexing condition  of  things  just  at  the  present  time.  But  we 
feel  that  humanity  towards  our  own  people,  demands  of  us  to 
make  this  application  in  their  behalf,  and  we  would  therefore 
earnestly  and  respectfully  invoke  the  Society  of  Friends,  for 
such  assistance  as  you  may  feel  disposed  to  minister  to  their 
necessities,  and  in  their  behalf,  as  well,  as  of  ourselves,  we  will 
always  cherish  a  lively  remembrance  of  your  kindness. 

Wishing  you  the  reward  of  the  benevolent,  in  the  great  day, 
we  subscribe  ourselves  your  obliged  and  sincere  friends, 

In  presence  of   >  HENRY  TWO  GUNS, 

AsHER  Wright.  I  WILLIAM  KROU^E, 

GEORGE  X  BUTTON, 
JOHN  X  GREENBLANKET, 
ABRAHAM  x  JOHN, 
JAMES  SPRING, 
DANIEL  TWO  GUNS. 

Notwithstanding  these  Indians  were  carried  away  without 
the  knowledge  or  sanction  of  the  Government,  and  consequent- 
ly without  the  requisite  preparation  for  their  comfort  and  sub- 
sistance  in  the  western  country,  yet  the  Commissioner  of  In- 


185 

dian  Affairs,  as  soon  as  he  was  apprized  of  the  movements  of 
Dr.  Hogeboom,  anxious  to  afford  them  all  the  relief  in  his 
power,  promptly  ordered  arrangements  for  their  reception, 
at  the  place  of  their  destination,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  follow- 
ing extracts  from  documents  in  the  War  Department. 

War  Department,  Office  Indian  Affairs,  > 

June  \Otk,  1846.      S 
Sir— 

Information  has  been  recently  received  at  this  Office,  that 
A.  Hogeboom  had  started  for  St.  Louis  with  a  party  of  New 
York  Indians,  in  number  about  two  hundred.  This  act  of 
starting  with  a  less  number  than  two  hundred  and  fifty,  in  con- 
nection with  the  recent  action  of  this  Office,  looking  to  a  sus- 
pension of  the  emigration  for  a  time,  was  wholly  unauthorized, 
and  of  course  unexpected ,  but  as  the  party  are  without  the 
reach  of  the  Department,  measures  must  be  taken  to  subsist 
them.  I  have  therefore  to  request  that  you  will  give  directions 
to  the  Osage  Sub- Agent,  to  invite  proposals,  and  enter  into  con- 
tract for  their  subsistence  for  twelve  months,  as  contemplated 
in  my  instructions  to  you  of  the  14th  November,  1845,  to 
which  you  are  referred. 

Respectfully,  &c. 

W.  MEDILL. 
T.  W.  HARVEY,  Esq. 

Sup't  Indian  Affairs,  St.  Louis,  Mo 

Notwithstanding  this  humane  effort  on  the  part  of  the  Com- 
migsioner,  to  make  provision  for  the  reception  and  accommoda- 
tion of  these  emigrants,  it  appears  that  from  the  hardships  and 
exposures  to  which  they  were  subjected,  and  from  the  un- 
wholesome nature  of  the  climate,  one  third  of  them  perished 
within  six  months  after  their  arrival  at  their  intended  residence. 

When  their  distressed  situation  was  made  known  to  the  De- 
partment, the  Commissioner  immediately  addressed  a  letter  to 
the  Indian  Agent,  at  St.  Louis,  calling  his  attention  to  their 
case — from  which  the  following  is  extracted. 
24 


186 


War  Department,    Office  Indian  Affairs,  > 

Oct.  29,  1846.      5 

Sir— 

I  transmit  herewith  a  copy  of  a  letter  just  received  from 
James  Cussick,  one  of  the  party  of  the  New  York  Indians,  re- 
moved west  last  summer  by  Dr.  Hogeboom,  from  which  it  ap- 
pears, that  there  has  been  much  sickness  and  mortality  among 
those  Indians,  and  that  they  are  in  a  distressed  situation. 


Mr.  Cussick's  letter,  supported  as  it  is  by  Capt.  Burbanks,  is 
calculated  to  excite  much  anxiety  on  account  of  these  Indians. 
They  were  removed  contrary  to  the  instruction  and  expecta- 
tions of  the  Department  at  the  time ;  and  their  having  gone 
west,  was  not  know^n,  until  they  were  some  distance  on  the 
route.  There  was  consequently  no  opportunity  for  making  the 
requisite  preliminary  arrangements  for  their  comfort  and  wel- 
fare on  their  arrival  west.  After  giving  you,  the  instructions  of 
June  10,  for  their  subsistence,  much  had  to  be  left  to  the  judg- 
ment and  views  of  duty,  under  these  circumstances,  of  yourself 
and  the  Osage  Sub-Agent,  under  whose  immediate  supervision 
they  came,  in  regard  to  what  was  further  required  to  be  done 
for  them. 

In  my  letter  of  the  30th  ultimo,  your  attention  was  specially 
called  to  their  situation,  and  no  doubt  is  entertained  that  your 
answers  to  that  communication,  will  show  you  have  done, 
or  caused  to  be  done,  all  that  could  be,  under  the  circum- 
stances, for  their  relief.  Should  the  amount  now  remitted  not 
be  sufficient  to  cover  the  expenses  of  what  you  have  already 
done,  or  what  it  may  be  in  3'our  judgment  further  requisite 
to  do  for  them,  in  addition  to  their  subsistence  for  which  there 
is  a  special  appropriation,  you  will  please  report  promptly  ac- 
cordingly, and  the  necessary  funds  will  be  furnished.     Funds 


187 

will  also  be  remitted  on  account  of  their  subsistence,  when  this 
Office  is  informed  that  they  are  needed. 


#  #  »  # 

Respectfully, 

THOS.  H.  HARVEY,  Esq. 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 


W.  MEDILL. 


The  committees  charged  by  the  Yearly  Meetings  with  this 
concern,  have  not  felt  themselves  called  upon,  to  interfere 
in  the  questions  that  have  agitated  the  Senecas,  respecting 
their  political,  social  or  religious  affairs.  For  many  years  a 
portion  of  the  nation,  had  been  under  the  care  and  notice  of 
Friends — schools  had  been  established  for  the  education  of 
their  children,  agricultural  implements,  from  time  to  time  were 
furnished  to  them,  and  persons  had  been  employed  to  instruct 
them  in  farming.  It  was  to  these  objects  that  the  attention  of 
the  committees  had  been  especially  directed. 

When  requested  by  the  chiefs  to  assist  in  preventing  the 
forcible  expulsion  of  their  people  from  the  homes,  descended 
to  them  from  their  forefathers,  and  for  the  security  of  which, 
the  public  faith  had  repeatedly  been  solemnly  pledged,  the 
committee  believed  it  right  to  afford  them  all  the  aid  in  their 
power,  and  they  did  so ;  and  when  in  the  course  of  the  other 
difficulties  and  troubles  in  which  these  Indians  occasionally 
became  involved,  they  solicited  our  advice,  it  was  freely  given. 
Such  of  them  as  desired  to  emigrate  to  the  west,  so  far  as  the 
committees  have  been  concerned,  have  been  left  at  liberty  to 
decide  for  themselves,  and  our  interferences  have  extended  no 
further,  than  to  endeavor  by  ail  proper  means,  to  prevent  the 
compulsory  removal  of  those  who  did  not  desire  to  emigrate. 

The  conflict  in  which  we  have  been  engaged  has  been  an 
arduous  one.  It  has  involved  much  labor,  expense  of  time, 
and  personal  exposure,  but  it  is  a  consolation  that  there  has 
been  preserved  to  the  Senecas  a  home,  on  part  of  their  ancient 
domain,   where,  by  moderate  labor,  they  may  always  obtain, 


188 

not  only  the  necessaries,  but  conforts   of  life — that  they  have 
very  generally  become  a   sober  industrious  people,  and  that 
they,  and  especially  their  unoflfending  women   and   children 
have  been  saved    from   the   miseries    and  dangers  of  exile  to 
a  land,    not   at  all   suited  to   their  pr  sent  state,  and  which 
experience  has   proved  to  be   very  destructive  to   their  race. 
Much    has  been  done  to  educate  their  children,  and  prepare 
them    for    the    more    advanced    stages   of  civilization.     Thus 
it  appears   some    of  the    principal   objects    of  their    appoint- 
ment have  been  attained.     Under  this  consideration,  we  have 
indulged  the  hope  that  we,  at  no  distant  day,  might  be  permit- 
ted to  close  the  joint  concern,  and  leave  the  Indians  to  puisue 
their  own  happiness  in  theii   own    way.     But  hitherto,  when 
we  have  brought  the  subject  close   home,  and    endeavored    to 
weigh  it  in  the  true  balance,  the  way  has  not  yet  appeared   so 
clear,   entirely    to   withdraw   from   the    concern,  as   we   could 
desire. 

It  is  evident  that  the  Indians  of  our  country,  are  not  able  to 
stand  their  ground,  before  th*'  more  mature  intellect,  and  con- 
summate artifice  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  They  have  needed, 
and  they  yet  need,  faithful,  able  counsellors,  to  stand  by  them 
in  the  difficulties  and  dangers  which  surround  them.  Of  this 
we  have  a  chain  of  evidence  extending  from  remote  periods 
up  to  the  present  year.  Without  protection  there  is  strong 
reason  to  beieve  the  race  will  perish.  Even  the  New  York 
Indians,  advanced  as  they  are  in  the  arts  of  civilized  life,  can- 
not yet  stand  alone,  Witliani  Penn  said  of  the  Indians  in  his 
day,  *' he  will  deserve  th  •  name  of  a  wise  man,  that  outwits 
them  in  any  treaty,  about  a  thing  they  understand  ;''  and  yet 
it  is  true,  in  relation  to  the  In^lians  of  our  day,  that  the  white 
man  is  constantly  outwitting  them,  in  cases  where,  if  tney  do 
not  understand,  it  is  not  for  want  of  experience ; — in  cases 
where,  if  they  are  not  cautio  js,  it  is  not  because  they  have  not 
suffered  severely  to  make  them  so.  There  is  something  in 
their  character  so  unsuspecting,  so  confiding,  that  even  the 
most  painful  experience  seems  insufficient  to  overcome  it. 


189 

But  there  are  causes,  now  in  active  operation,  that  pro- 
mise to  work  a  great  change  in  those  people.  The  rising 
generation  are  obtaining  the  powerful  aid  of  intellectual  cul- 
ture. Their  women  are  being  withdrawn  from  the  drudgery 
of  the  field,  and  are  occup\ing  themselves  in  the  proper 
duties  of  their  sex, — the  care  of  their  families,  and  the  educa- 
tion of  their  children.  They  are  adopting  a  mode  of  living, 
more  comfortable  than  a  poor  wigwam  can  afford,  and  more 
expensive,  in  respect  to  bed  and  board,  than  a  buffalo  skin 
and  a  dish  of  hominy;  and  their  men  will  now  be  compelled 
to  exercise  their  faculties,  in  providing  the  means  of  subsist- 
ence ;  all  which  can  hardly  fail  to  advance  them  in  civihza- 
tion,  and  prepare  them  to  meet  the  exigencies  and  difficulties 
of  life. 

Before  concluding  this  review  of  our  labours,  we  think  it 
right  to  acknowledge  the  uniform  kindness  we  have  received 
from  the  heads  of  the  War  Department,  and  other  officers  of 
the  government.  In  our  intercourse  with  them,  we  have  been 
treated  with  marked  attention  and  respect, — our  suggestions 
have  received  all  proper  consideration,  and  our  measures  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Indians,  a  cordial  support.  We  cannot  recur 
to  our  intercourse  with  the  Indian  Bureau  at  Washington, 
without  feelings  of  gratitude,  nor  close  this  narrative  without 
an  acknowledgment  of  our  obligations  to  the  head  of  that  De- 
partment. 


ERRATA. 

The  reader  is  requested  to  correct  the  following  typographi- 
cal errors  in  the  succeeding  sheets : 

Page       8,       line       31,       for      til      read      till. 


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<( 
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11  "  16  "        til  -        tiU 

16  "  24  "   objects  "    object 

21  "  24  "   reserved  ''  reversed 

23  "  21  "  read  "  red 


59  "  9  "  come         "  came 

60  "  31  "  conditien  "  condition 
69  "  19  "witheld      "withheld 
71  '^'^  2  "  thei            "  their 

75  "  26  "  memorihsts "  memorialists 

80  "  1  "  obtainen     "  obtained 

81  "  1  "  assay          "  essay 

82  "  10  "  quidam      «  quidem 
109  "  10  "  counci        "  council 
131  "  31  "  purshasing "  purchasing 
135  "  30  "  Brothert      "  Brothers 

138  "  34  "  encounterted "  encountered 

139  "  9  "  grievancess  "  grievances 
139  "  9  ''  hould          *'  should 
1^9  "  5  "  reservaton  *'  reservation. 
178  "  30  "  accout      "  account 


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